Berwick and East Lothian by-election, 1978
Encyclopedia
The Berwick and East Lothian by-election, 1978 was a by-election
held for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Berwick and East Lothian in Scotland
on 26 October 1978. It was one of two UK parliamentary by-elections held on that day, and was won by the Labour Party
candidate John Home Robertson.
Member of Parliament
(MP), John Mackintosh
had died at the age of 48 on 30 July 1978. He had held the seat since the October 1974 general election
, having previously been MP for the seat between 1964
and the February 1974 election
.
candidate was Margaret Marshall. The Scottish National Party
fielded Isobel Lindsay, this caused some tensions within the SNP as the national leadership chose her as the candidate, as they were entitled to do, but they did not choose the person the local SNP organisation had selected to fight the next general election. The Liberals
selected Tam Glen.
Home Robertson held the seat until its abolition for the 1983 general election
, when he was returned for the new East Lothian
constituency. He went on to represent the Scottish Parliament
constituency of East Lothian
.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held for the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Berwick and East Lothian in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
on 26 October 1978. It was one of two UK parliamentary by-elections held on that day, and was won by the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate John Home Robertson.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the LabourLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP), John Mackintosh
John Mackintosh
John Pitcairn Mackintosh was a British Labour Party politician known for his defence of devolution and the concept of dual nationality; that Scots could be both Scottish and British....
had died at the age of 48 on 30 July 1978. He had held the seat since the October 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
, having previously been MP for the seat between 1964
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
and the February 1974 election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
.
Candidates
The Labour candidate was 29-year-old John Home Robertson, a farmer who had been a member of Berwickshire District Council since 1974. The Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate was Margaret Marshall. The Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
fielded Isobel Lindsay, this caused some tensions within the SNP as the national leadership chose her as the candidate, as they were entitled to do, but they did not choose the person the local SNP organisation had selected to fight the next general election. The Liberals
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
selected Tam Glen.
Result
The result was a victory for Home Robertson, with an increased majority of 3,112 votes. This was well against the general trend of by-elections in the 1974 Parliament, which had been against Labour. It also saw a decline in the SNP vote, continuing a trend at a few other elections earlier in the year.Home Robertson held the seat until its abolition for the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
, when he was returned for the new East Lothian
East Lothian (UK Parliament constituency)
East Lothian is a constituency in Scotland which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.-History:...
constituency. He went on to represent the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
constituency of East Lothian
East Lothian (Scottish Parliament constituency)
East Lothian is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
.
Votes
See also
- Berwick and East Lothian constituency
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1950-1979)
- Pontefract and Castleford by-election, 1978Pontefract and Castleford by-election, 1978A by-election was held for the British House of Commons parliamentary constituency of Pontefract and Castleford on 26 October 1978 following the death of Labour Member of Parliament Joseph Harper on 24 June. It was one of two UK parliamentary by-elections held on that day.The result was a Labour...