1989 Glasgow Central by-election
15 June 1989
Constituency of Glasgow Central
Turnout52.9% (Decrease 12.7%)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Con
Candidate Mike Watson Alex Neil Allan Hogarth
Party Labour SNP Conservative
Popular vote 14,480 8,018 2,028
Percentage 54.6% 30.2% 7.6%
Swing Decrease 9.9% Increase 20.3% Decrease 5.4%
MP before election

Bob McTaggart
Labour

 Subsequent MP

Mike Watson
Labour

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 Scottish National Party had high hopes of repeating their victory from the previous year at the by-election for the Glasgow Govan seat, where Jim Sillars gained the seat from Labour. For Glasgow Central, the SNP chose a close associate of their Govan victor Alex Neil. However, the hope for victory did not transpire for the SNP, as Mike Watson retained the seat for the Labour Party with a 6,462 majority, despite a 20.3% rise in the SNP share of the votes cast. The day after the election, The Glasgow Herald described the result as "the revenge" Labour sought for their by-election defeat in Govan a few months earlier.[1] The SNP blamed opinion polls in the latter stages of the election campaign which showed them trailing Labour, arguing these stalled their momentum.[1] Winner Mike Watson argued that the result showed that "The SNP bandwagon is off the rails", although SNP spokesman Chris McLean denied that the result was a setback, pointing out that they had significantly increased their vote share.[1]

The Liberal Democrats fell to fifth place, the worst position achieved by a major party at any British by-election since the 1976 Walsall North by-election. This was equalled in the Henley by-election in 2008, when Labour also fell to fifth, and surpassed in the Glasgow North East by-election in 2009, when the Liberal Democrats came sixth. Their 1.6% vote share remained the lowest percentage vote for the Liberal Democrats until they entered the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition in 2010, and in fact was not beaten until the South Shields by-election three years into their time in government.

This was also the only parliamentary contest engaged in by the Scottish Socialist Party that existed at the time (which should not be confused with the present day Scottish Socialist Party). Their candidate was Bill Kidd.

Results

Glasgow Central by-election, 1989[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mike Watson 14,480 54.6 -9.9
SNP Alex Neil 8,018 30.2 +20.3
Conservative Allan Hogarth 2,028 7.6 -5.4
Green Irene Brandt 1,019 3.8 +2.9
Liberal Democrats Robert McCreadie 411 1.5 -9.0
SDP Peter Kerr 253 1.0 New
Revolutionary Communist Linda Murdoch 141 0.5 New
Scottish Socialist Bill Kidd 137 0.5 New
Workers Revolutionary David Lettice 48 0.2 New
Majority 6,462 24.4 -27.1
Turnout 26,535 52.9 -12.7
Labour hold Swing -15.1
General Election 1987: Glasgow Central
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob McTaggart 21,619 64.5
Conservative B. Jenkin 4,366 13.0
Liberal J. Bryden 3,528 10.5
SNP A. Wilson 3,339 10.0
Green A. Brooks 290 0.9
Communist J. McGoldrick 265 0.8
Red Front D. Owen 126 0.4
Majority 17,253 51.5
Turnout 33,533 65.6
Labour hold Swing

References

  1. 1 2 3 Clark, William; Henderson, Connie (16 June 1989). "Central heads night of poll joy for Labour". The Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1987–92 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 1 October 2015.

See also

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