The Scottish National Party is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 62 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament,and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It has 453 local councillors of the 1,227 available. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom and for Scotland's membership in the European Union,with a platform based on progressive social policies and civic nationalism. Founded in 1934 with the amalgamation of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party,the party has had continuous parliamentary representation in Westminster since Winnie Ewing won the 1967 Hamilton by-election.
Winifred Margaret Ewing was a Scottish lawyer and politician who figured prominently in the Scottish National Party.
Cambuslang is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow,Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents,it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population,although,never having had a town hall,it may also be considered the largest village in Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire and directly borders the town of Rutherglen to the west. Historically,it was a large civil parish incorporating the nearby hamlets of Newton,Flemington,Westburn and Halfway.
Annabelle Janet Ewing is a Scottish politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament,alongside Liam McArthur,since May 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP),she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Cowdenbeath constituency since 2016,having previously been an MSP for the Mid Scotland and Fife region from 2011 to 2016.
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999,first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region,and as the member for Glasgow Southside from 2007.
Rutherglen and Hamilton West was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom,which was created for the 2005 general election. It covered almost all of the former constituency of Glasgow Rutherglen and most of the former constituency of Hamilton South,and it elected one member of parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post voting system.
James Anthony Kelly is a Scottish politician who has served as General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region between 2016 and 2021,having previously been MSP for Rutherglen from 2007 to 2016.
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement,he was Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on two occasions,from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He then served as leader of the Alba Party from 2021 until his death in 2024.
Elections to South Lanarkshire Council took place on 3 May 2012 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections,it was held using single transferable vote (STV) –a form of proportional representation –in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh OBE WS NP is a Scottish politician,serving as chair of the Alba Party since 2021. She was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Conservatives,Labour,and the Scottish National Party (SNP),Ahmed-Sheikh served as the SNP's Trade and Investment spokesperson,Deputy Shadow Leader of the House in the House of Commons,and the SNP's National Women's and Equalities Convener. A solicitor and businessperson,and a former actress,Ahmed-Sheikh founded and formerly chaired the Scottish Asian Women's Association.
Clare Joan Haughey is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Children and Young People from 2021 to 2023,having previously served as Minister for Mental Health from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP),she has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Rutherglen since in the 2016.
Elections to South Lanarkshire Council took place on 4 May 2017 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections,it was held using single transferable vote (STV) –a form of proportional representation –in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Gerard Killen is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutherglen and Hamilton West from 2017 to 2019.
The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was a Committee of the Scottish Parliament set up to investigate the Alex Salmond sexual harassment scandal,in which the Scottish Government breached its own guidelines in its original investigation into claims of sexual harassment by former First Minister Alex Salmond. This led to the loss of a judicial review into their actions and damages of over £500,000 of public money being paid to Salmond. The Committee met from 2020 to 2021 and published its final report on 23 March 2021. Prior to publication,it leaked that the Committee concluded that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon misled them in her evidence.
The Alba Party is a Scottish nationalist and pro-independence political party in Scotland. Founded in February 2021,it was led by former first minister of Scotland and SNP leader Alex Salmond until his death in 2024. Salmond launched the party's 2021 Scottish Parliament election campaign in March 2021,with the party standing list-only candidates.
Nicola Sturgeon's term as first minister of Scotland began on 20 November 2014 when she was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session. It followed Alex Salmond's resignation following the defeat of the Yes campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. She is the first female and longest serving officeholder. Sturgeon's premiership was dominated by Brexit,which she used as an argument to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence,however,opposition from the UK Government,the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,the cost of living crisis and the ruling against her government holding an advisory referendum would be obstacles for Sturgeon securing her legacy of gaining Scottish independence. Sturgeon's term ended on 29 March 2023,following her resignation announcement on 15 February,in which she claimed occupational burnout was the reason for her resignation.
Events from the year 2023 in Scotland.
A 2023 by-election took place in the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West on 5 October 2023,following the recall of incumbent MP Margaret Ferrier.
Michael Graeme Shanks is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutherglen,previously Rutherglen and Hamilton West,since 2023. He has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy since July 2024.
