Glasgow Kelvin (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Glasgow Kelvin (UK Parliament constituency).

Glasgow Kelvin
Scottish Parliament burgh constituency
Glasgow Kelvin shown within the Glasgow electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Created	1999
MSP	Sandra White
Council area	Glasgow City
Party	Scottish National Party

Glasgow Kelvin is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of ten constituencies in the Glasgow electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Electoral region

See also Glasgow Scottish Parliament region

The region covers the Glasgow City council area and a north-western portion of the South Lanarkshire council area.

Constituency boundaries

The original Glasgow Kelvin constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.

The Holyrood constituency is entirely within the Glasgow City council area, in the west of the council area. It is south of the Anniesland and Maryhill constituencies, west of Springburn and Shettleston and north of Govan. The Anniesland, Maryhill, Govan, Springburn and Shettleston constituencies are also entirely within the city area.

Boundary review

Following its First Periodic review into Scottish Parliament constituencies, a newly shaped Kelvin was formed in time for the Scottish Parliament election, 2011. The areas of Victoria Park, Scotstoun and Whiteinch were removed from the original Kelvin seat to create the reformed constituency. The Glasgow City Council electoral wards used in the creation of the new Glasgow Kelvin seat are:

• In full: Anderston / City, Hillhead
• In part: Canal, Partick West

Constituency profile

Glasgow city centre is in this constituency, including Kelvingrove Art Gallery, the cathedral, and the Scottish Exhibition Centre. All three of Glasgow's universities are here as well, making it supposedly the most educated constituency in Scotland. The large student population is an important factor in elections. The Merchant City is also here, yuppie housing built out of the disused cotton and tobacco warehouses. This area is a symbol of the rebirth of the city, and Kelvin is undoubtedly the most affluent constituency in Glasgow, although it also includes more deprived areas.

History

The predecessor to the Westminster constituency seat, Glasgow Hillhead, was the last Conservative seat in the city until Roy Jenkins won it for the Social Democratic Party at a by-election in 1982. He held it in 1983 general election but it was taken by Labour's George Galloway in 1987.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1999	Pauline McNeill	Labour
	2003
	2007
	2011	Sandra White	Scottish National Party

Election results

Scottish Parliament election, 2011: Glasgow Kelvin
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Sandra White	10,640	43.3	+14
	Labour	Pauline McNeill	9,758	39.8	+6
	Liberal Democrats	Natalie McKee	1,900	7.7	-5.9
	Conservative	Ruth Davidson	1,845	7.5	-0.8
	Independent	Tom Muirhead	405	1.6	+1.6
Majority			882	3.6
Turnout			24,548	39.4
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing	4

The Independent gained under 5% of the poll and thus lost their deposit

Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Glasgow Kelvin
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Pauline McNeill	7,875	33.5	-2.2
	SNP	Sandra White	6,668	28.4	+7.6
	Scottish Green	Martin Bartos	2,971	12.6	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Katy Gordon	2,843	12.1	-3.0
	Conservative	Brian Cooklin	1,943	8.3	+0.1
	Independent	Niall Walker	744	3.2	N/A
	Scottish Christian	Isobel Macleod	456	1.9	N/A
Majority			1,207	5.1
Turnout			23,500	42.7	+3.3
Rejected ballots			1125	4.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Glasgow Kelvin
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Pauline McNeill	7,880	35.7	−9.1
	SNP	Sandra White	4,591	20.8	−8.5
	Liberal Democrats	Douglas Herbison	3,334	15.1	+2.0
	Scottish Socialist	Andy Harvey	3,159	14.3	+9.5
	Conservative	Gawaine Towler	1,816	8.2	+0.3
	Independent Green Voice	Alistair McConnachie	1,300	5.9	+5.9
Majority			3,289	14.9
Turnout			22,080	39.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Scottish Parliament election, 1999: Glasgow Kelvin
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Pauline McNeill	12,014	44.8
	SNP	Sandra White	8,303	29.3
	Liberal Democrats	Moira Craig	3,720	13.1
	Conservative	Asad Rasul	2,225	7.9
	Scottish Socialist	Heather Ritchie	1,375	7.8
Majority			3,711	15.5

See also

• Politics of Glasgow