Donald Campbell Dewar was a Scottish statesman and politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000. He previously served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997 to 1999. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Anniesland from 1978 to 2000. Dewar was also Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the equivalent seat from 1999 to 2000.
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 Government of the United Kingdom's Scotland Office, a British government department led by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Glasgow is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Thus it elects a total of 16 MSPs.
On 4 August 1999, NATO announced that the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Hamilton South, in Scotland, George Robertson, had been chosen as their new Secretary-General. This meant that Robertson was required to resign from his seat which he had won at the 1997 general election. The seat had fallen vacant in a Parliamentary recess, and the law does not permit a by-election to be called during a recess if the sitting member resigns by taking the Chiltern Hundreds.
The 2000 Falkirk West by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 21 December 2000 for the Scottish constituency of Falkirk West.
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.
The 2005 Livingston by-election was triggered when Robin Cook, the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Livingston, in Scotland, died on 6 August 2005.
Scottish Labour is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist, it currently holds 22 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and one of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is represented by 262 of the 1,227 local councillors across Scotland.
Glasgow Anniesland is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood), being one of eight constituencies within the Glasgow City council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the Glasgow electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The Dunfermline and West Fife by-election was held on 9 February 2006, following the death of the sitting Labour MP Rachel Squire, on 6 January. The by-election was the first seat to change hands in the 2005 Parliament, when Willie Rennie won the seat for the Liberal Democrats, gaining it from Labour by 1,800 votes. The BBC reported a swing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats of 16.24%.
The Glasgow Central by-election, in the Glasgow Central constituency, was held on 15 June 1989. It was caused by the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Bob McTaggart.
The 1990 Paisley South by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 29 November 1990 for the House of Commons constituency of Paisley South, in the town of Paisley, Scotland.
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.
The 1982 Beaconsfield by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 27 May 1982 for the British House of Commons constituency of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire.
The 1938 Combined Scottish Universities by-election was a by-election held from 21 to 25 February 1938 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.
The 1936 Combined Scottish Universities by-election was a by-election held from 27 to 31 January 1936 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.
The 1973 Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 8 November 1973 for the House of Commons constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed. It was one of four UK by-elections held on the same day.
The Glasgow Queen's Park by-election, 1982 was a parliamentary by-election held on 2 December 1982 for the House of Commons constituency of Glasgow Queen's Park.
The 1982 Coatbridge and Airdrie by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 24 June 1982 for the British House of Commons constituency of Coatbridge and Airdrie.
The 1978 Glasgow Garscadden by-election 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.
