Glasgow Hillhead by-election, 1982

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.

Hillhead had been held by the Conservatives at every election since its creation in 1918. Galbraith himself had held the seat since the Glasgow Hillhead by-election, 1948. However, his majority had been gradually reduced, and even in their disastrous 1979 election, the Labour Party had continued to gain ground. [http://www.alba.org.uk/nextwe/g05.html Scottish Politics: Glasgow Kelvin] . Retrieved 7 July 2007.]

Candidates

The Labour Party had suffered a split in 1981, with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) formed by the "Gang of Four" prominent figures: David Owen, Bill Rodgers, Shirley Williams and Roy Jenkins. The SDP had several Parliamentary seats held by defectors from Labour, and one by a defector from the Conservatives, while Williams had won the Crosby by-election, 1981 for the party, leaving Jenkins as the final "Gang of Four" member without a seat in the House of Commons. He contested the Warrington by-election, 1981, taking a close second, and remained keen to fight a winnable seat.

Labour's candidate for the seat in 1979, Richard Mowbray, had defected to the SDP. Coupled with a largely middle class electorate and a third place in 1979 for the Liberal Party, who had since agreed an electoral pact with the SDP, the party considered Hillhead to be a target seat and agreed to stand Jenkins.

The Conservatives hoped to hold the seat, but were behind in the polls. They stood Gerry Malone, a local lawyer.Gerry Malone, " [http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=706&id=14822003 Ruthless politician brought touch of glamour to Hillhead] ", "The Scotsman", 6 January 2003. Retrieved 7 July 2007.] Malone called for cuts in welfare and the reintroduction of hanging.Mayo Mohs, " [http://aolsvc.timeforkids.kol.aol.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921164-2,00.html Victory for the Center] ", "TIME magazine", 5 April 1982. Retrieved 7 July 2007.]

Labour faced a struggle to win the seat, but hoped their lead in the polls would translate to a by-election victory. They stood David Wiseman, a local councillor and community worker who had previously been known for his research into the Loch Ness Monster.Alan Cochrane, " [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/01/06/nroy206.xml Hillhead victory won a place in his heart] ", "The Daily Telegraph"]

The Scottish National Party (SNP) had contested the seat for many years, and in recent elections had won around 10% of the vote. They stood George Leslie, a local vet, and campaigned for Scottish independence, with a particular focus on Jenkins' background in England and Wales.

An organisation named the "Social Democratic Party", founded by Donald Kean in Manchester in 1979 and unconnected with the organisation Jenkins represented, stood Douglas Parkin. Parkin changed his name by deed poll to "Roy Harold Jenkins" in an attempt to confuse voters who wished to vote for the better-known candidate, whose full name was "Roy Harris Jenkins"." [http://www.geocities.com/by_elections/glasgowhillhead82.html Glasgow Hillhead 1982] ", British Parliamentary By Elections. Retrieved 7 July 2007.]

Jack Glass, a Protestant pastor and founder of the local Zion Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, stood in opposition to a planned visit to Scotland by the Pope, whom he described as the "antichrist". [" [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/02/27/db2702.xml Obituaries: Pastor Jack Glass] ", "The Daily Telegraph", 26 February 2004. Retrieved 7 July 2007.] The Ecology Party, then little-known, stood Nicolette Carlaw, while veteran by-election candidate Bill Boaks stood as "Public Safety Democratic Monarchist White Resident".

Campaign

The campaign was lively and closely fought. Some newspapers initially thought that Jenkins was not keen to represent a Scottish constituency and would struggle to win the seat. Polls constitently showed Jenkins with a narrow lead of around 1% over Malone, leaving Wiseman in third position.

Labour sent big name politicians, including Tony Benn and party leader Michael Foot, to address large public meetings in the constituency.Lindsey German, " [http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr200/seventys.htm Socialism since the seventies] ", "Socialist Review", September 1996. Retrieved 7 July 2007.] The party also persuaded Wiseman to remove the earring he always wore. Jenkins brought the other members of the Gang of Four to campaign, Williams describing the by-election as "the last chance for Britain to find a democratic, moderate but radical alternative to revolution." Jenkins was absent from the final weekend of campaigning, prompting questions about his health.

Malone was supported by John Nott, Geoffrey Howe and Ted Heath, and the Conservative government announced a major investment into Glasgow's Queen's Dock. Malone later claimed that Jenkins' supporters used the issue of his Roman Catholic faith to dissuade the mostly Protestant voters from supporting him.

The SDP took "Roy Harold Jenkins" to court, claiming that his attempt to confuse voters constituted a corrupt practice under the Representation of the People Act. They failed to convince the court. [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199798/ldhansrd/vo981105/text/81105-16.htm Lord Hansard text for 15 November 1998] . Retrieved 7 July 2007.] However, the SDP was permitted to draw attention to the position of their candidate on the ballot paper, [ [http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1979.html RESULTS OF BYELECTIONS IN THE 1979-83 PARLIAMENT] . Retrieved 7 July 2007.] and did so in a wide variety of ways. Among these was placing volunteers near polling stations on the day of the election, wearing sandwich boards reading "The real Roy Jenkins is number 5". One of these volunteers was Charles Kennedy, future leader of the Liberal Democrats. [Grace McCann, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000625/ai_n14309872 "How We Met: Charles Kennedy & Roy Jenkins"] , "The Independent", 25 June 2000. Retrieved 7 July 2007.]

Result

Jenkins won with just over one third of the votes cast. Malone took second place, just ahead of Wiseman, the share of the vote for both parties falling, while Leslie slightly increased the SNP share. The other candidates won less than a thousand votes between them, Roy Harold Jenkins' intervention not influencing the final result. Boaks took only five votes, the lowest total ever recorded for a candidate in a by-election who had not withdrawn. [Robin Oakley, " [http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/04/21/oakley.blog.daytwelve/index.html Mavericks who bring election alive] ", "CNN", 21 April 2005. Retrieved 7 July 2007.] Such was the public attention that turnout was actually up from the general election.

Election box candidate with party link
party = Social Democratic Party (UK)
candidate = Roy Jenkins
votes = 10,106
percentage = 33.4
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Gerry Malone
votes = 8,068
percentage = 26.6
change = - 14.4Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = David Wiseman
votes = 7,846
percentage = 25.9
change = - 8.5Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish National Party
candidate = George Leslie
votes = 3,416
percentage = 11.3
change = + 1.2Election box candidate
party = Protestant Crusade against the Papal Visit
candidate = Rev Jack Glass
votes = 388
percentage = 1.3
change = "N/A"Election box candidate
party = Social Democrat (1979)
candidate = Roy Harold Jenkins
votes = 282
percentage = 0.9
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Ecology Party
candidate = Nicolette Carlaw
votes = 178
percentage = 0.6
change = "N/A"Election box candidate
party = Public Safety Democratic Monarchist White Resident
candidate = Bill Boaks
votes = 5
percentage = 0.0
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 2,038
percentage = 6.8
change = - 0.2Election box turnout
votes =
percentage = 76.4
change = + 0.7Election box gain with party link
winner = Social Democratic Party (UK)
loser = Conservative Party (UK)
swing =

Aftermath

As Jenkins had secured a place in Parliament, he felt able to contest the SDP leadership election in July, winning narrowly. Following a disappointing result for the party in the 1983 UK general election he resigned the post, and in 1987, he lost Hillhead to the Labour candidate, George Galloway.

Malone won the Aberdeen South seat in 1983, and later sat for Winchester. Labour largely blamed their poor result on infighting within the party, and in particular its far left members. Leslie stood again for the SNP in Hillhead in 1983, but saw his vote halve. [ [http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge83/i09.htm UK General Election results June 1983] . Retrieved 7 July 2007.]

References