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. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) using the first-past-the-post voting system.

Glasgow Hillhead
Former burgh constituency
for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of ScotlandCity of Glasgow (1975–1996)
19181997
SeatsOne
Created fromPartick
Replaced byGlasgow Kelvin

Boundaries

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1918–1950: "That portion of the city which is bounded by a line commencing at a point in the municipal boundary at its intersection with the centre line of the River Kelvin, thence southeastward, southward and southwestward along the centre line of the River Kelvin to the centre line of the North British Railway (Stobcross Branch), thence north-westward along the centre of the said North British Railway to its intersection with the municipal boundary, thence northeastward along the municipal boundary to the point of commencement".

1950–1955: The Kelvinside and Partick (West) wards of the county of the city of Glasgow, and part of the Partick (East) ward.[1]

1955–1974: The Kelvinside and Partick West wards of the county of the city of Glasgow, and part of the Whiteinch ward.[2]

1974–1983: The Glasgow wards of Kelvinside, Partick West, and Whiteinch.

1983–1997: The City of Glasgow District electoral divisions of Kelvindale/Kelvinside, Partick/Anderston, and Scotstoun/Broomhill.

History

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Along with Glasgow Cathcart, Hillhead was one of two safe Conservative Party seats in Glasgow for several decades. However, Labour reduced the Conservatives' majorities in both constituencies in the 1970s; Labour even won Cathcart in 1979 (making it the only seat the Conservative Party lost in its electoral victory that year), while Hillhead remained Conservative with a narrow majority. In the subsequent by-election of 1982, the Conservatives lost their last seat in Glasgow not to Labour, but to the year-old SDP, with the former Labour cabinet minister Roy Jenkins becoming the new MP for the constituency. Jenkins retained the seat for the SDP in the 1983 general election, but lost the seat to George Galloway of the Labour Party in 1987.

Members of Parliament

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Election Member Party
1918 Sir Robert Horne Conservative
1937 by-election James Reid Conservative
1948 by-election Tam Galbraith Conservative
1982 by-election Roy Jenkins SDP
1987 George Galloway Labour
1997 constituency abolished

Election results

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Elections in the 1910s

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General election 1918: Glasgow Hillhead [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Robert Horne 12,803 75.4
Labour John Izett 4,186 24.6
Majority 8,617 50.8
Turnout 16,989 63.4
Registered electors 26,798
Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

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General election 1922: Glasgow Hillhead[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Robert Horne 12,272 62.7 −12.7
Liberal Edwin James Donaldson 7,313 37.3 New
Majority 4,959 25.4 −25.4
Turnout 19,585 75.5 +12.1
Registered electors 25,951
Unionist hold Swing N/A
General election 1923: Glasgow Hillhead [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Robert Horne 9,757 51.0 −11.7
Labour John L. Kinloch 5,059 26.4 New
Liberal Edwin James Donaldson 4,331 22.6 −14.7
Majority 4,698 24.6 −0.8
Turnout 19,147 73.2 −2.3
Registered electors 26,165
Unionist hold Swing +1.5
General election 1924: Glasgow Hillhead [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Robert Horne 14,572 67.7 +16.7
Labour John L. Kinloch 6,957 32.3 +5.9
Majority 7,615 35.4 +10.8
Turnout 36,101 78.2 +5.0
Registered electors 27,522
Unionist hold Swing +5.4
General election 1929: Glasgow Hillhead [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Robert Horne 17,395 63.3 −4.4
Labour William Sloan Cormack 10,065 36.7 +4.4
Majority 7,330 26.6 −8.8
Turnout 27,460 74.9 −3.3
Registered electors 36,660
Unionist hold Swing −4.4

Elections in the 1930s

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General election 1931: Glasgow Hillhead [7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Robert Horne 21,279 73.84 +10.5
Labour Charles Aloysius O'Donnell 7,539 26.16 −10.5
Majority 13,740 47.68 +21.1
Turnout 28,818 80.0 +5.1
Unionist hold Swing
  • O'Donnell endorsed by constituency party but not by borough party
General election 1935: Glasgow Hillhead
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Robert Horne 18,367 68.20
Labour James McCullock 8,566 31.80
Majority 9,801 36.40 −11.28
Turnout 26,933 73.24 −6.8
Unionist hold Swing
1937 Glasgow Hillhead by-election[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist James Reid 12,539 56.52 −11.68
Labour Gilbert McAllister 7,539 33.98 +2.18
SNP John MacCormick 1,886 8.50 New
Independent David J. Black 221 1.00 New
Majority 5,000 22.54 −13.85
Turnout 22,185
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s

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General election 1945: Glasgow Hillhead[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist James Reid 14,909 58.6 −9.6
Labour Hugh Turner McCalman 8,545 33.6 +1.8
Liberal John Gray Wilson 2,003 7.8 New
Majority 6,364 25.0 −11.4
Turnout 25,457 66.0 −7.2
Unionist hold Swing
1948 Glasgow Hillhead by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Tam Galbraith 16,060 68.4 +9.8
Labour Thomas Alexander MacNair 7,419 31.6 −2.0
Majority 8,641 36.8 +11.8
Turnout 23,479
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s

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General election 1950: Glasgow Hillhead[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Tam Galbraith 23,181 60.73 +2.1
Labour George Thomson 12,920 33.85 +0.2
Liberal Pamela Gibson 2,072 5.43 −2.4
Majority 10,261 26.88 +1.9
Turnout 38,173 82.17 +16.2
Registered electors 46,455
Unionist hold Swing +0.9
General election 1951: Glasgow Hillhead[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Tam Galbraith 24,654 64.86 +4.13
Labour Hyman Shapiro 13,359 35.14 +1.29
Majority 11,295 29.72 +2.84
Turnout 38,013 82.21 +0.04
Registered electors 46,238
Unionist hold Swing +1.42
General election 1955: Glasgow Hillhead[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Tam Galbraith 20,106 67.57 +2.71
Labour Jane B. Davidson 9,648 32.43 −2.71
Majority 10,458 35.14 +5.42
Turnout 29,754 79.92 −9.29
Registered electors 40,802
Unionist hold Swing +2.71
General election 1959: Glasgow Hillhead[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Tam Galbraith 20,094 68.32 +0.75
Labour Thomas B. Duncan 9,317 31.68 −0.75
Majority 10,777 36.64 +1.49
Turnout 29,411 77.08 −2.84
Registered electors 38,154
Unionist hold Swing +0.75

Elections in the 1960s

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General election 1964: Glasgow Hillhead[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Tam Galbraith 16,993 64.0 ―4.3
Labour Thomas B. Duncan 9,572 36.0 +4.3
Majority 7,421 28.0 ―8.6
Turnout 26,565 74.7 ―2.4
Registered electors 35,580
Unionist hold Swing ―4.4
General election 1966: Glasgow Hillhead[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tam Galbraith 15,899 62.9 ―1.1
Labour William Boyle 9,384 37.1 +1.1
Majority 6,515 25.8 ―2.2
Turnout 25,283 73.5 ―1.2
Registered electors 34,388
Conservative hold Swing ―1.1

Elections in the 1970s

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General election 1970: Glasgow Hillhead
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tam Galbraith 14,674 61.3 ―1.6
Labour Vince Cable 7,303 30.5 ―6.6
SNP George Wotherspoon 1,957 8.2 New
Majority 7,371 30.8 +5.0
Turnout 23,934 69.5 ―4.0
Conservative hold Swing
General election February 1974: Glasgow Hillhead
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tam Galbraith 14,378 44.0 ―17.3
Labour D. Welsh 7,997 24.4 ―6.1
Liberal Louise Steedman 6,644 20.3 New
SNP Keith Sydney Bovey 3,702 11.3 +3.1
Majority 6,381 19.6 ―11.2
Turnout 32,721 78.8 +9.3
Conservative hold Swing
General election October 1974: Glasgow Hillhead
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tam Galbraith 11,203 37.1 ―6.9
Labour D. Welsh 8,507 28.2 +3.8
SNP G. Borthwick 6,897 22.9 +11.6
Liberal Alan Rennie 3,596 11.9 ―8.4
Majority 2,696 8.9 ―10.7
Turnout 30,203 72.4 ―6.4
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1979: Glasgow Hillhead
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tam Galbraith 12,368 41.0 +3.9
Labour Richard Mowbray 10,366 34.4 +6.2
Liberal Marshall Harris 4,349 14.4 +2.5
SNP G. Borthwick 3,050 10.1 ―12.8
Majority 2,002 6.6 ―2.3
Turnout 30,133 71.9 ―0.5
Conservative hold Swing ―1.2

Elections in the 1980s

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1982 Glasgow Hillhead by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDP Roy Jenkins 10,106 33.4 +19.0
Conservative Gerry Malone 8,068 26.6 ―14.4
Labour David Wiseman 7,846 25.9 ―8.5
SNP George Leslie 3,416 11.3 +1.2
Protestant Crusade against the Papal Visit Jack Glass 388 1.3 New
Social Democrat (1979) Roy Harold Jenkins 282 0.9 New
Ecology Nicolette Carlaw 178 0.6 New
Public Safety Democratic Monarchist White Resident Bill Boaks 5 0.0 New
Majority 2,038 6.8 N/A
Turnout 30,289 76.4 +4.5
SDP gain from Conservative Swing +23.9
General election 1983: Glasgow Hillhead[16][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDP Roy Jenkins 14,856 36.2
Labour Neil Carmichael 13,692 33.4
Conservative Murray Tosh 9,678 23.5
SNP George Leslie 2,203 5.4
Ind. Conservative John P. Davidson 249 0.6
Ecology Alastair Whitelaw 239 0.6 N/A
Animal Rights Campaign - Scottish Anti-Vivisection John Frederick Robins 139 0.3 New
Majority 1,164 2.8 N/A
Turnout 41,056 71.9
SDP gain from Labour Swing

The constituency's boundaries were significantly altered for the 1983 general election and it was estimated by the BBC and ITN that on the new boundaries Labour would have captured the seat with a majority of just over 2,000 votes in 1979, thus making this a notional SDP gain from Labour.[17] Neil Carmichael was the sitting Labour MP for the Glasgow Kelvingrove constituency which had been abolished for this election.[18]

General election 1987: Glasgow Hillhead[19][20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour George Galloway 17,958 42.9 +9.5
SDP Roy Jenkins 14,707 35.1 ―1.1
Conservative Brian David Cooklin 6,048 14.5 ―9.0
SNP Bill Kidd 2,713 6.5 +1.1
Green Alastair Whitelaw 443 1.1 +0.5
Majority 3,251 7.8 N/A
Turnout 41,869 72.4 +0.5
Labour gain from SDP Swing

Elections in the 1990s

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General election 1992: Glasgow Hillhead[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour George Galloway 15,148 38.5 ―4.4
Liberal Democrats Chris Mason 10,322 26.2 ―8.9
Conservative Aileen Bates 6,728 17.1 +2.6
SNP Sandra White 6,484 16.5 +10.0
Scottish Green Lizbeth R. Collie 558 1.4 +0.3
Revolutionary Communist Helen Gold 73 0.2 New
Natural Law Duncan Patterson 60 0.1 New
Majority 4,826 12.3 +4.5
Turnout 39,373 68.7 ―3.7
Labour hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ "Representation of the People Act 1948: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1948 c. 65 (sch. 1), retrieved 23 July 2023
  2. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) (Glasgow Scotstoun, Glasgow Hillhead and Glasgow Woodside) Order 1955. SI 1955/25". Statutory Instruments 1955. Part II. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1956. pp. 2202–2204.
  3. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
  4. ^ a b British parliamentary election results, 1918–1949.
  5. ^ The Times, 8 December 1923.
  6. ^ Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927.
  7. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1934.
  8. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1939.
  9. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  10. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1950". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  11. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  12. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  13. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  14. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  15. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  16. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  17. ^ a b The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983. London: Times Books. 1983. p. 279. ISBN 0-7230-0255-X.
  18. ^ The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983. London: Times Books Ltd. 1983. p. 119. ISBN 0-7230-0255-X.
  19. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.