Coatbridge and Airdrie by-election, 1982
Encyclopedia
The Coatbridge and Airdrie by-election, 1982 was a parliamentary by-election
held on 24 June 1982 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Coatbridge and Airdrie
.
Member of Parliament
(MP), James Dempsey
(6 February 1917 – 12 May 1982) died.
He was a clerk with a haulage firm
and a councillor on Lanarkshire
County Council
from 1945. He later worked as a lecturer on political economy and a writer on local government
.
Dempsey was Member of Parliament
for Coatbridge and Airdrie
from 1959.
1. Representing the Labour Party was Tom Clarke, born in Coatbridge on 10 January 1941.
He had been assistant director of the Scottish Council for Education Technology. He had become a deputy director of the Scottish Film Council
, where he had written the synopses for the film library catalogue. He had also been president of the British Amateur Cinematographers Central Council (based in Epsom
) and organised the Scottish International Amateur Film Festival. He became a councillor on the Coatbridge Town Council aged 23 in 1964 where he served until it was abolished in 1974, and then became a member for its replacement the Monklands District Council until he was elected to parliament
in 1982.
As a result of a series of boundary changes Clarke has been MP for Coatbridge and Airdrie 1982 - 1983, for Monklands West
1983 - 1997, for Coatbridge and Chryston
1997 - 2005 and currently (in July 2008) for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill from 2005.
2. The Conservative nominee was H. de Burgh.
3. The Scottish National Party
candidate was R. Wyllie. He also contested Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
in the 1983 general election.
4. The Liberal Party candidate, representing the SDP-Liberal Alliance
, was A. Henderson.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 24 June 1982 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 Coatbridge and Airdrie
Coatbridge and Airdrie (UK Parliament constituency)
Coatbridge and Airdrie was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned one Member of Parliament from 1950 until 1983.It was then replaced by the Monklands West constituency.-Boundaries:...
.
Previous MP
The seat fell vacant when the constituency's 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), James Dempsey
James Dempsey
James Dempsey was a Scottish Labour Party politician.Dempsey was educated at Holy Family School, Mossend, the Co-operative College in Loughborough, and at the National Council of Labour Colleges. He was a clerk with a haulage firm and a councillor on Lanarkshire County Council from 1945...
(6 February 1917 – 12 May 1982) died.
He was a clerk with a haulage firm
Haulage
Haulage may refer to:* The business of being a haulier or hauler , also called haulage contractor, common carrier, contract carrier, or private carrier, in other words of transporting goods by road or rail for other companies or one's own company.* The horizontal transport of ore, coal, supplies,...
and a councillor on Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
County Council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
from 1945. He later worked as a lecturer on political economy and a writer on local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
.
Dempsey was 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,...
for Coatbridge and Airdrie
Coatbridge and Airdrie (UK Parliament constituency)
Coatbridge and Airdrie was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned one Member of Parliament from 1950 until 1983.It was then replaced by the Monklands West constituency.-Boundaries:...
from 1959.
Candidates
Four candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.1. Representing the Labour Party was Tom Clarke, born in Coatbridge on 10 January 1941.
He had been assistant director of the Scottish Council for Education Technology. He had become a deputy director of the Scottish Film Council
Scottish Screen
Scottish Screen is the national body for film and television in Scotland, established in April 1997. It took on the functions of the Scottish Film Council, the Scottish Film Production Fund, Scottish Screen Locations and Scottish Broadcast and Film Training, forming a unitary organisation.Scottish...
, where he had written the synopses for the film library catalogue. He had also been president of the British Amateur Cinematographers Central Council (based in Epsom
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
) and organised the Scottish International Amateur Film Festival. He became a councillor on the Coatbridge Town Council aged 23 in 1964 where he served until it was abolished in 1974, and then became a member for its replacement the Monklands District Council until he was elected to parliament
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...
in 1982.
As a result of a series of boundary changes Clarke has been MP for Coatbridge and Airdrie 1982 - 1983, for Monklands West
Monklands West (UK Parliament constituency)
Monklands West was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament , using the first-past-the-post voting system....
1983 - 1997, for Coatbridge and Chryston
Coatbridge and Chryston (UK Parliament constituency)
Coatbridge and Chryston was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned one Member of Parliament from 1997 until 2005.It was then replaced by the Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill constituency....
1997 - 2005 and currently (in July 2008) for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill from 2005.
2. The Conservative nominee was H. de Burgh.
3. 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....
candidate was R. Wyllie. He also contested Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (UK Parliament constituency)
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 2005...
in the 1983 general election.
4. The Liberal Party candidate, representing the SDP-Liberal Alliance
SDP-Liberal Alliance
The SDP–Liberal Alliance was an electoral pact formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom which was in existence from 1981 to 1988, when the bulk of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later referred to as simply the Liberal...
, was A. Henderson.
Votes
- Death of James Dempsey
See also
- Coatbridge and Airdrie constituencyCoatbridge and Airdrie (UK Parliament constituency)Coatbridge and Airdrie was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned one Member of Parliament from 1950 until 1983.It was then replaced by the Monklands West constituency.-Boundaries:...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election recordsUnited Kingdom by-election recordsUK by-election records is an annotated list of notable records from UK Parliamentary by-elections. A by-election occurs when a Member of Parliament resigns, dies, or is disqualified or expelled, and an election is held to fill the vacant seat...