1973 Dundee East by-election

Last updated

There was a by-election for Dundee East, in Scotland, on 1 March 1973. It was one of three UK parliamentary by-elections held on that day. It was caused by the appointment of George Thomson as a European commissioner. George Machin retained the seat for Labour, but only narrowly. There was a strong showing by the Scottish National Party, which prefigured their serious breakthrough at the Govan by-election later in the year, and the two general elections of 1974.

Contents

Background

Thomson had represented the seat since winning it in a a by-election in 1952. Since the seat's creation in 1950 it had returned Labour members, and until the 1970 general election Labour's majorities over the second placed Conservative candidates had ranged from a low of 3,805 votes in 1951 to a high of 8,126 at the 1952 by-election. However, in 1970 the Labour vote share fell below 50% for the first time and Thomson's majority over the second-placed Conservative candidate Allan Stewart was 2,798 votes, the lowest yet seen in the seat. At the same contest the SNP, who had previously only contested the seat at the 1952 by-election, had come third with 8.9% of the votes. [1]

Dundee's Lord Provost William Fitzgerald was chosen as the Conservative candidate by the Dundee Conservative and Unionist Association from a short leet of six. [2] During the campaign Fitzgerald pledged action to try to prevent the loss of 70 jobs at the local Robb Caledon shipyard. [3]

The contest was viewed as three-way fight, although the Conservatives and Labour claimed it was a contest between their candidates. [4] Fitzgerald's election was considered possible if his party's vote held and the SNP gained from Labour. [4] However, SNP canvassers reportedly thought they could win enough votes to repeat their surprise victory at Hamilton in 1967. [4] The Liberal candidate Nathaniel Gordon also hoped he could pull off a shock result, but this was widely doubted. [4] Nonetheless, Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe came to Dundee to campaign for Gordon. [3] There was some speculation that the Labour vote may be hurt by the fact that Machin was from Sheffield and an English candidate in a Scottish seat had angered some local Labour supporters. [4]

Results

1973 Dundee East by-election [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Machin 14,411 32.74 -15.60
SNP Gordon Wilson 13,27030.15+21.22
Conservative William Fitzgerald11,08925.19-17.17
Liberal Nathaniel Gordon3,6538.30New
Labour Party of Scotland George MacLean1,4093.20New
Independent John S Thomson1820.41New
Majority1,1412.59-3.39
Turnout 44,014
Labour hold Swing

Aftermath

While Labour were reported to be relieved to hold the seat, it was noted that the result showed the SNP were still an electoral force. [6] Machin's victory speech was reportedly disrupted by 'the angry shouts of Scottish Nationalist supporters' and he faced 'chants of "Go back to Yorkshire" and "Go home, Englishman". [6] An editorial in The Glasgow Herald attributed part of the SNP's success to the issue of oil and opined that had a Public Accounts Committee report which was critical of some aspects of the Conservative Government's handling of oil policy been published earlier, the SNP might have won the seat. [7]

Ultimately, Machin's success was short lived as Wilson built on his performance and captured the seat in the February general election the following year. He would hold it until 1987. [8]

Related Research Articles

Margaret Anne Ewing was a Scottish teacher, journalist and politician. She served as a Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament for East Dunbartonshire from 1974 to 1979 and Moray from 1987 to 2001, and was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Moray from 1999 until 2006.

The Labour Party of Scotland was a minor Scottish nationalist political party that was active in the early 1970s. Formed as a left-wing breakaway from Dundee's branch of the Scottish National Party (SNP), it is perhaps best known for standing in the Dundee East by-election of 1973, where its interference split the nationalist vote and probably cost the SNP a parliamentary seat as a result. The party contested elections to Dundee City Council two months later but was ultimately unsuccessful. It folded soon after, and by early 1974 most of its membership had returned to the SNP, whose campaigns on North Sea oil were proving popular with Scotland's urban electorate. It never had any official political representation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Wilson (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish politician (1938–2017)

Robert Gordon Wilson was a Scottish politician and solicitor. He was the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 1979 to 1990, and was SNP Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee East from 1974 to 1987. He was Rector of the University of Dundee from 1983 to 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dundee East (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

Dundee East is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created for the 1950 general election, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post voting system.

George Machin was a British Labour Party politician, engineering inspector and shop steward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Dundee</span> Place

Politics in the Dundee Citycouncil area are evident in the deliberations and decisions of Dundee City Council, in elections to the council, and in elections to the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 Glasgow Govan by-election</span>

The Glasgow Govan by-election was held on 8 November 1973, following the death of John Rankin, Labour Party Member of Parliament for the Glasgow Govan constituency. Rankin had died one month earlier, on 8 October 1973. Rankin had held the seat since 1955. With the exception of a narrow Conservative victory in 1950, the seat had been solidly Labour-held since 1918. For the by-election the Labour Party nominated Harry Selby, a veteran activist in Glasgow and a former Trotskyist. It was later reported that Selby's selection had been controversial with some Labour members who felt that at the age of 61 he was too old to be starting a parliamentary career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Scottish Parliament election</span> Parliamentary election held in Scotland

The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 Glasgow Hillhead by-election</span>

A Glasgow Hillhead by-election was held on 25 March 1982. The by-election was caused by the death of the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Glasgow Hillhead Tam Galbraith on 2 January 1982.

The 1978 Berwick and East Lothian by-election was a by-election held for the 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.

A by-election for the House of Commons of the UK Parliament took place in Edinburgh North on 8 November 1973. Alexander Fletcher retained the seat for the Conservatives, after his predecessor became Duke of Buccleuch.

The 1969 Glasgow Gorbals by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 30 October 1969 for the House of Commons constituency of Glasgow Gorbals in Glasgow. It was one of five UK parliamentary by-elections held on that day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 United Kingdom general election in Scotland</span>

A general election was held in the United Kingdom on 6 May 2010 and all 59 seats in Scotland were contested. The election result in Scotland was unusual in that there wasn't any change of seats from the 2005 general election, although the Labour Party took back two seats that it had lost in by-elections. This was the most recent general election at which the Labour Party won a majority of seats and plurality of votes in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 Strathclyde Regional Council election</span> Strathclyde Regional Council election

Elections to Strathclyde Regional Council were held on Thursday 6 May 1982, on the same day as the eight other Scottish regional elections. This was the third election to the regional council following the local government reforms in the 1970s.

The Dundee East by-election was held on 17 July 1952, due to the death in a road accident of the incumbent Labour MP, Thomas Cook. It was won by the Labour candidate George Thomson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 United Kingdom general election in Scotland</span> List of election results

A general election was held in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2015 and all 59 seats in Scotland were contested under the first-past-the-post, single-member district electoral system. Unlike the 2010 general election, where no seats changed party, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won all but three seats in Scotland in an unprecedented landslide victory, gaining a total of 56 seats and taking the largest share of the Scottish vote in sixty years, at approximately 50 per cent. The Labour Party suffered its worst ever election defeat in Scotland, losing 40 of the 41 seats it was defending, including the seats of Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy and the then Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander. The Liberal Democrats lost ten of the eleven seats they were defending, with the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and former leader Charles Kennedy losing their seats. The election also saw the worst performance by the Scottish Conservative Party, which received its lowest share of the vote since its creation in 1965, although it retained the one seat that it previously held. In all, 50 of the 59 seats changed party, 49 of them being won by first-time MPs.

Scottish local elections were held in 1967 to elect members to the various Corporations, Burghs, and County Boards of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 United Kingdom general election in Scotland</span> United Kingdom general election held in Scotland

A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 8 June 2017; all 59 seats in Scotland were contested under the first-past-the-post electoral system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 United Kingdom general election in Scotland</span>

A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday, 11 June 1987 and all 72 seats in Scotland were contested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 United Kingdom general election in Scotland</span>

A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 3 May 1979 and all 71 seats in Scotland were contested.

References

  1. Craig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary Election Results 1950-1970. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. p. 596. ISBN   0-900178-02-7.
  2. "Tory Choice for East Dundee". The Herald. Glasgow. 30 November 1972. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 Clark, William (27 February 1973). "Dundee Tory gives pledge to yard men". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Clark, William (1 March 1973). "East Dundee voters may upset form book". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  5. "1973 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 Warden, John (2 March 1973). "Taverne Landslide. Labour Hold Dundee". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  7. "Labour Gloom". The Herald. No. 3 March 1973. Glasgow. p. 8. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  8. "MS 315 Gordon Wilson, MP for Dundee East and Chairman of the Scottish National Party". Archive Services Online Catalogue. University of Dundee. Retrieved 8 May 2017.

See also