Glasgow Garscadden by-election, 1978
Encyclopedia
The Glasgow Garscadden by-election, 1978 was a parliamentary by-election
held on 13 April 1978 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Glasgow Garscadden
, in the north west periphery of the City of Glasgow
.
It was won by Donald Dewar
of the Labour Party. It was important in that it was widely seen as halting the Scottish National Party
(SNP) tide in the 1970s.
(19 October 1909 – 18 January 1978) who was a Labour Party
politician from Scotland
.
Small was an engineer. He was an Ayrshire
County Council
lor from 1945 to 1951 and an active member of the Amalgamated Engineering Union, serving on its national committee from 1955 to 1957 and as president of the union's West Ayrshire district.
At the 1959 general election
, he was elected as Member of Parliament
for Glasgow Scotstoun
. At the February 1974 election
he was elected for Glasgow Garscadden which was largely the same constituency under a new name. He held that seat until his death.
Small never held ministerial office, but served as Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Minister of Power from 1964.
The Labour candidate was Donald Campbell Dewar. He had worked as a solicitor
in Glasgow before being elected at the age of 28 in the 1966 general election
to Westminster to represent the marginal constituency of Aberdeen South
. In his maiden speech in the Commons Dewar railed against a proposed increase on potato tax. This was his first notable success - the tax was repealed in 1967. That year he was made Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Education Secretary
Anthony Crosland
, who Dewar later confessed to never really establishing a rapport with. He held that position until 1969. In April 1968 he was proposed for a Minister of State
position by Roy Jenkins
but nothing came of it. He lost his seat to Ian Sproat at the 1970 general election
.
Dewar later went on to become Secretary of State for Scotland
, and the first First Minister of Scotland
.
Representing the Scottish National Party
(SNP) was Keith S. Bovey. He had previously contested the neighbouring seat of Glasgow Hillhead
in February 1974 and Garscadden in the October 1974 general election. In that contest the SNP replaced the Conservative Party as the runners up to Labour in Glasgow Garscadden. He was also a senior figure in CND.
Bovey went on to contest Glasgow Hillhead in 1983, as well as Monklands West
in the 1987 and 1992 general elections.
The Conservative
nominee was Iain M. Lawson. He contested Dumbarton
for the Tories in 1983. Later he was the SNP candidate for Stirling
in 1987 and for Paisley South
in the Paisley South by-election, 1990
and the 1992 general election.
Mrs S. Farrell represented the Scottish Labour Party
, which was a short lived breakaway party from the Labour Party. She did not contest any other parliamentary election.
Sammy Barr was the Communist candidate. He contested Glasgow Garscadden in February 1974 and 1979, as well as at this by-election.
The Socialist Workers Party
stood Peter Porteous, who did not contest any other parliamentary election.
, a lengthy gap. The SNP was widely seen as being on a rise, doing well at the 1977 district council elections.
Although the by-election saw a significant swing from Labour to SNP, because the SNP failed to take the seat it was seen as a defeat for them. Labour did even better, and the SNP worse, shortly after this, in the 1978 regional elections, and Westminster by-elections in Hamilton
and Berwick and 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 on 13 April 1978 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 Glasgow Garscadden
Glasgow Garscadden (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Garscadden was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1974 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system.-Boundaries:...
, in the north west periphery of the City of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
It was won by Donald Dewar
Donald Dewar
Donald Campbell Dewar was a British politician who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament in Scotland from 1966-1970, and then again from 1978 until his death in 2000. He served in Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997-1999 and was instrumental in the creation...
of the Labour Party. It was important in that it was widely seen as halting 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....
(SNP) tide in the 1970s.
Previous Member of Parliament
The by-election was caused by the death of William Watson SmallWilliam Small (Scottish politician)
William Watson Small was a Scottish Labour Party politician.Small was an engineer. He was an Ayrshire County Councillor from 1945 to 1951 and an active member of the Amalgamated Engineering Union, serving on its national committee from 1955 to 1957 and as president of the union's West Ayrshire...
(19 October 1909 – 18 January 1978) who was a 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...
politician from 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...
.
Small was an engineer. He was an Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
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:...
lor from 1945 to 1951 and an active member of the Amalgamated Engineering Union, serving on its national committee from 1955 to 1957 and as president of the union's West Ayrshire district.
At the 1959 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
, he was elected as 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 Glasgow Scotstoun
Glasgow Scotstoun (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Scotstoun was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until 1974. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system.-Boundaries:...
. At 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,...
he was elected for Glasgow Garscadden which was largely the same constituency under a new name. He held that seat until his death.
Small never held ministerial office, but served as Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Minister of Power from 1964.
Candidates
Six candidates were nominated for the by-election.The Labour candidate was Donald Campbell Dewar. He had worked as a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
in Glasgow before being elected at the age of 28 in the 1966 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
to Westminster to represent the marginal constituency of Aberdeen South
Aberdeen South (UK Parliament constituency)
Aberdeen South is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
. In his maiden speech in the Commons Dewar railed against a proposed increase on potato tax. This was his first notable success - the tax was repealed in 1967. That year he was made Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Education Secretary
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
The Secretary of State for Education is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010, held by Michael Gove....
Anthony Crosland
Anthony Crosland
Charles Anthony Raven Crosland , otherwise Tony Crosland or C.A.R. Crosland, was a British Labour Party politician and author. He served as Member of Parliament for South Gloucestershire and later for Great Grimsby...
, who Dewar later confessed to never really establishing a rapport with. He held that position until 1969. In April 1968 he was proposed for a Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
position by Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
but nothing came of it. He lost his seat to Ian Sproat at the 1970 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
.
Dewar later went on to become Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
, and the first First Minister of Scotland
First Minister of Scotland
The First Minister of Scotland is the political leader of Scotland and head of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy...
.
Representing 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....
(SNP) was Keith S. Bovey. He had previously contested the neighbouring seat of Glasgow Hillhead
Glasgow Hillhead (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Hillhead was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1997...
in February 1974 and Garscadden in the October 1974 general election. In that contest the SNP replaced the Conservative Party as the runners up to Labour in Glasgow Garscadden. He was also a senior figure in CND.
Bovey went on to contest Glasgow Hillhead in 1983, as well as 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....
in the 1987 and 1992 general elections.
The Conservative
Conservative 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...
nominee was Iain M. Lawson. He contested Dumbarton
Dumbarton (UK Parliament constituency)
Dumbarton was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 2005. It was largely absorbed into the new constituency of Dunbartonshire West, with Helensburgh joining Argyll and Bute....
for the Tories in 1983. Later he was the SNP candidate for Stirling
Stirling (UK Parliament constituency)
Stirling is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
in 1987 and for Paisley South
Paisley South (UK Parliament constituency)
Paisley South was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
in the Paisley South by-election, 1990
Paisley South by-election, 1990
The Paisley South by-election, 1990 was a parliamentary by-election held on 29 November 1990 for the British House of Commons constituency of Paisley South, in the town of Paisley, Scotland....
and the 1992 general election.
Mrs S. Farrell represented the Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party (1976)
The Scottish Labour Party was formed on January 18, 1976, as a breakaway from the UK Labour Party, by members disaffected with the then Labour Government's failure to secure a devolved Scottish Assembly, as well as with its social and economic agenda...
, which was a short lived breakaway party from the Labour Party. She did not contest any other parliamentary election.
Sammy Barr was the Communist candidate. He contested Glasgow Garscadden in February 1974 and 1979, as well as at this by-election.
The Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Workers Party (Britain)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...
stood Peter Porteous, who did not contest any other parliamentary election.
Votes
- Death of William Small 18 January 1978
Political context
The by-election was important as it was the first Westminster by-election in Scotland to take place since the October 1974 general electionUnited 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...
, a lengthy gap. The SNP was widely seen as being on a rise, doing well at the 1977 district council elections.
Although the by-election saw a significant swing from Labour to SNP, because the SNP failed to take the seat it was seen as a defeat for them. Labour did even better, and the SNP worse, shortly after this, in the 1978 regional elections, and Westminster by-elections in Hamilton
Hamilton by-election, 1978
There was a by-election for the United Kingdom House of Commons in Hamilton on Wednesday 31 May 1978. It was caused by the death of Labour Party Member of Parliament Alexander Wilson.The by-election was the last in the UK to date not held on a Thursday...
and Berwick and East Lothian
Berwick and East Lothian by-election, 1978
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...
.
See also
- Glasgow Garscadden constituencyGlasgow Garscadden (UK Parliament constituency)Glasgow Garscadden was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1974 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system.-Boundaries:...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1950-1979)