.gif)
Motherwell and Wishaw (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Motherwell and Wishaw is a constituency
of the Scottish Parliament
(Holyrood
). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP)
by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of ten constituencies in the Central Scotland electoral region
, which elects seven additional members, in addition to ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation
for the region as a whole.
The current MSP is John Pentland
The other nine constituencies of the South of Scotland region are Airdrie and Shotts
, Coatbridge and Chryston
, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
, East Kilbride
, Falkirk East
, Falkirk West
, Hamilton North and Bellshill
, Hamilton South
and Kilmarnock and Loudoun
.
The region covers all of the Falkirk council area, all of the North Lanarkshire council area
, part of the South Lanarkshire council area
, part of the East Ayrshire council area
and a small part of the East Dumbartonshire council area
.
The region itself is described as the 2nd safest Labour
seat in Scotland. However, during the 2011 Scottish Parliament Elections, Labour held their seat with the smallest majority since 1999.
, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency
. In 2005
, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.
The Holyrood constituency is one of five covering the North Lanarkshire council area
, the others being Airdrie and Shotts
, Coatbridge and Chryston
, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
and Hamilton North and Bellshill
. All five are within the Central Scotland electoral region.
Three of the five constituencies are entirely within the North Lanarkshire area. Coatbridge and Chryston straddles the boundary with the East Dunbartonshire council area
, which is otherwise within the West of Scotland region, and Hamilton North and Bellshill straddles the boundary with the South Lanarkshire council area
, which is otherwise divided between the Central Scotland, Glasgow and South of Scotland regions.
Motherwell and Wishaw covers a south-western portion of the North Lanarkshire area, south of Hamilton North and Bellshill and west of Aidrie and Shotts.
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....
of 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...
(Holyrood
Scottish Parliament Building
The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament held their first debate in the new building on 7...
). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP)
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of ten constituencies in the Central Scotland electoral region
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....
, which elects seven additional members, in addition to ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
for the region as a whole.
The current MSP is John Pentland
John Pentland
John Pentland is a Scottish politician representing the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency in the Scottish Parliament.He has been a member of the Labour Party for over 30 years, holding numerous branch and CLP positions....
Electoral region
- See also Central Scotland Scottish Parliament region
The other nine constituencies of the South of Scotland region are Airdrie and Shotts
Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Airdrie and Shotts is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, Coatbridge and Chryston
Coatbridge and Chryston (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Coatbridge and Chryston is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, East Kilbride
East Kilbride (Scottish Parliament constituency)
East Kilbride is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, Falkirk East
Falkirk East (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Falkirk East is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, Falkirk West
Falkirk West (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Falkirk West is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, Hamilton North and Bellshill
Hamilton North and Bellshill (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Hamilton North and Bellshill is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, Hamilton South
Hamilton South (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Hamilton South is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
and Kilmarnock and Loudoun
Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Kilmarnock and Loudoun was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....
.
The region covers all of the Falkirk council area, all of the North Lanarkshire council area
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...
, part of the South Lanarkshire council area
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....
, part of the East Ayrshire council area
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...
and a small part of the East Dumbartonshire council area
East Dunbartonshire
This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...
.
The region itself is described as the 2nd safest Labour
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...
seat in Scotland. However, during the 2011 Scottish Parliament Elections, Labour held their seat with the smallest majority since 1999.
Constituency boundaries and council area
The constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999Scottish Parliament election, 1999
The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members...
, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency
Motherwell and Wishaw (UK Parliament constituency)
Motherwell and Wishaw is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1974, mostly from Motherwell...
. In 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.
The Holyrood constituency is one of five covering the North Lanarkshire council area
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...
, the others being Airdrie and Shotts
Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Airdrie and Shotts is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, Coatbridge and Chryston
Coatbridge and Chryston (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Coatbridge and Chryston is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
and Hamilton North and Bellshill
Hamilton North and Bellshill (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Hamilton North and Bellshill is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
. All five are within the Central Scotland electoral region.
Three of the five constituencies are entirely within the North Lanarkshire area. Coatbridge and Chryston straddles the boundary with the East Dunbartonshire council area
East Dunbartonshire
This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...
, which is otherwise within the West of Scotland region, and Hamilton North and Bellshill straddles the boundary with the South Lanarkshire council area
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....
, which is otherwise divided between the Central Scotland, Glasgow and South of Scotland regions.
Motherwell and Wishaw covers a south-western portion of the North Lanarkshire area, south of Hamilton North and Bellshill and west of Aidrie and Shotts.
Member of the Scottish Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Scottish Parliament election, 1999 The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members... |
Jack McConnell Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale is a British Labour life peer in the House of Lords. He was third First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007, making him the longest serving First Minister in the history of the Scottish Parliament... |
Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland.... |
|
| 2003 Scottish Parliament election, 2003 The Scottish Parliament election, 2003, was the second general election of the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive... |
|||
| 2007 Scottish Parliament election, 2007 The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999... |
|||
| 2011 Scottish Parliament election, 2011 The 2011 Scottish Parliament general election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the mixed member proportional representation system is used to... |
John Pentland John Pentland John Pentland is a Scottish politician representing the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency in the Scottish Parliament.He has been a member of the Labour Party for over 30 years, holding numerous branch and CLP positions.... |
Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland.... |
|