1987 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

Last updated

1987 United Kingdom general election
Flag of Scotland.svg
  1983 11 June 1987 1992  

All 72 Scottish seats to the House of Commons
Turnout75.1%, Increase2.svg2.4%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Start campagne voor Europese verkiezingen van PvdA (Rotterdam) Neal Kinnoch , k, Bestanddeelnr 932-9811.jpg Margaret Thatcher (1983).jpg
David Owen-1.jpg
Leader Neil Kinnock Margaret Thatcher
Party Labour Conservative Alliance
Leader since 2 October 1983 11 February 1975
Last election41 seats, 35.1%21 seats, 28.4%8 seats, 24.5%
Seats won50109
Seat changeIncrease2.svg9Decrease2.svg11Increase2.svg1
Popular vote1,258,132713,081570,053
Percentage42.4%24.0%19.2%
SwingIncrease2.svg7.3%Decrease2.svg4.4%Decrease2.svg5.3%

 Fourth party
 
Leader Gordon Wilson
Party SNP
Leader since15 September 1979
Last election2
Seats won3
Seat changeIncrease2.svg1
Popular vote416,473
Percentage14.1%
SwingIncrease2.svg2.3%

United Kingdom General Election 1987 in Scotland.svg
Results of the 1987 election in Scotland

A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday, 11 June 1987 and all 72 seats in Scotland were contested. [1]

Contents

MPs

List of MPs for constituencies in Scotland (1987–1992)

Results

PartySeatsSeats
change
Votes % %
change
Labour 50Increase2.svg91,258,13242.4Increase2.svg7.3
Conservative 10Decrease2.svg11713,08124.0Decrease2.svg4.4
Alliance 9Increase2.svg1570,05319.2Decrease2.svg5.3
SNP 3Increase2.svg1416,47314.1Increase2.svg2.3
Other0Steady2.svg10,0690.3Steady2.svg
Turnout:2,967,80875.1Increase2.svg2.4

Votes summary

Popular vote
Labour
42.4%
Conservative
24.0%
Alliance
19.2%
SNP
14.1%
Other
1.91%
Parliament seats
Labour
69.4%
Conservative
13.8%
Alliance
12.5%
SNP
2.7%

Incumbents defeated

PartyNameConstituencyOffice held whilst in powerYear electedDefeated byParty
Conservative Gerry Malone Aberdeen South 1983 Frank Doran Labour
The Rt Hon Peter Fraser East Angus Solicitor General for Scotland 1979 Andrew Welsh SNP
John MacKay Argyll and Bute Under-Secretary of State for Scotland 1979 Ray Mitchie Liberal
Sir Albert McQuarrie Banff and Buchan 1979 Alex Salmond SNP
John Corrie Cunninghame North February 1974 Brian Wilson Labour
Alexander MacPherson Fletcher Edinburgh Central 1973 Alistair Darling Labour
Barry Henderson North East Fife 1979 Menzies Campbell Liberal
Alexander Pollock Moray Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence 1979 Margaret Ewing SNP
Anna McCurley Renfrew West and Inverclyde 1983 Tommy Graham Labour
Michael Hirst Strathkelvin and Bearsden 1983 Sam Galbraith Labour
The Rt Hon Michael Ancram, Earl of Ancram Edinburgh South 1979 Nigel Griffiths Labour
SDP The Rt Hon Roy Jenkins Glasgow Hillhead Former Leader of the Social Democratic Party 1982 George Galloway Labour
SNP Gordon Wilson Dundee East Leader of the Scottish National Party February 1974 John McAllion Labour

Outcome

While the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher comfortably won a majority across the United Kingdom, the result saw the Conservatives suffer significant losses as their vote share declined significantly in what The Glasgow Herald called "the humiliation of the Tories north of the border." Labour, who as well as gaining seats from the Conservatives also took two from the SNP and one from the SDP, now had more MPs from Scotland than at any other point in the party's history, including holding every seat in Glasgow, while the Conservatives were reduced to their lowest number since the Second World War. [2] Several prominent Scottish Conservative MPs, including Peter Fraser, Sir Alex Fletcher and Michael Ancram lost their seats, while George Younger, then Secretary of State for Defence, only very narrowly held his Ayr constituency after a recount. [2] [3] The Conservatives also had close results in Edinburgh West, where James Douglas-Hamilton's majority was reduced to 498 votes, and at Stirling where junior minister Michael Forsyth's majority fell from over 5,000 to 948 votes. [4] The SNP's leader Gordon Wilson and the former leader of the SDP Roy Jenkins, also lost their seats to Labour challengers. [3] Labour also took the Western Isles constituency from the SNP following the retirement of former SNP leader Donald Stewart, with the seat seeing an SNP to Labour swing of 19.6%. The SNP partially compensated for their losses by gaining three seats from the Conservatives, while the Conservatives also lost two seats to the Liberals. [5] [6]

In reaction to the poor Conservative performance compared with England, Scottish Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, said "Of course I am disappointed. We have done well in the south, but not so well in Scotland." He noted that the recession had "bitten deeper" in Scotland than in England and that recovery had been slower. [2] The defeated Sir Alex Fletcher stated that "There is no Tory press in Scotland. The papers up here are rather hostile to the Tory Party". [3]

An editorial in The Glasgow Herald the day after the election argued that the results meant that "the case in favour of devolution is automatically strengthened", while also observing that the "patchy showing" by the SNP showed "that there is no general inclination for separatism". [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 United Kingdom general election</span> British 1983 election

The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of the Labour Party in 1945, with a majority of 144 seats and the first of two consecutive landslide victories.

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

The 1987 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive general election victory for the Conservative Party, who won a majority of 102 seats and second landslide under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the Earl of Liverpool in 1820 to lead a party into three successive electoral victories.

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

The politics of Scotland operate within the constitution of the United Kingdom, of which Scotland is a country. Scotland is a democracy, being represented in both the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the Scotland Act 1998. Most executive power is exercised by the Scottish Government, led by the First Minister of Scotland, the head of government in a multi-party system. The judiciary of Scotland, dealing with Scots law, is independent of the legislature and the Scottish Government. Scots law is primarily determined by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government shares some executive powers with the Scotland Office, a British government department led by the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Donald James Stewart was Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament (MP) from 1970 to 1987 for the Western Isles. He also served as President of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 1982 to 1987. He was a councillor in Stornoway for many years and twice served as the town's provost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Glasgow Govan by-election</span>

The Glasgow Govan by-election, for the House of Commons constituency of Glasgow Govan, Scotland, was held on 10 November 1988. It was caused by the resignation of Bruce Millan as Member of Parliament for the constituency following his appointment as a European Commissioner.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyndburn (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Hyndburn is a constituency in Lancashire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Sara Britcliffe of the Conservative Party.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Glasgow Central by-election</span>

The 1980 Glasgow Central by-election was a by-election held on 26 June 1980 for the British House of Commons constituency of Glasgow Central, following the death of its sitting MP, Thomas McMillan.

Anna Anderson McCurley was a Scottish politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Fletcher (British politician)</span> British politician

Sir Alexander MacPherson Fletcher, sometimes known as Alex Fletcher, was a Scottish Conservative Party politician.

The 1985 Brecon and Radnor by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 4 July 1985 for the House of Commons constituency of Brecon and Radnor.

<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.

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">1967 Glasgow Pollok by-election</span>

The Glasgow Pollok by-election of 9 March 1967 was held after the death of Labour MP (MP) Alex Garrow:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 United Kingdom general election in Scotland</span>

A general election was held in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1997 and all 72 seats in Scotland were contested. This would be the last UK general election to be contested in Scotland before the Scottish Parliament was established on 1 July 1999 following overwhelming public approval in a referendum.

<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. The SNP received what remains the largest number of votes gained by a single political party in a United Kingdom general election in Scotland in British history, breaking the previous record set by the Labour Party in 1964 and taking the largest share of the Scottish vote in sixty years, at approximately 50 per cent.

<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">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. "Commons results report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Parkhouse, Geoffrey (12 June 1987). "Scotland swims against the Tory tide". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Clark, William (12 June 1987). "Labour gains raise the Doomsday issue". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  4. The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1987. London: Times Books Ltd. 1987. pp. 108 & 212. ISBN   0-7230-0298-3.
  5. The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1987. London: Times Books Ltd. 1987. p. 238. ISBN   0-7230-0298-3.
  6. David Butler; Robert Waller (1987). "Survey of the voting. Election of haves and have-nots". The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1987. London: Times Books Ltd. p. 255. ISBN   0-7230-0298-3.
  7. "Divided kingdom". The Glasgow Herald. 12 June 1987. p. 12. Retrieved 28 April 2021.