Lanark and Hamilton East (UK Parliament constituency)

Lanark and Hamilton East was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was first used at the 2005 general election. It covered parts of the former Clydesdale, Hamilton North and Bellshill and Hamilton South constituencies, and it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.

Lanark and Hamilton East
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Lanark and Hamilton East in Scotland
Subdivisions of Scotland	South Lanarkshire
Major settlements	Carluke, Carstairs, Hamilton, Lanark, Larkhall, Uddingston
2005–2024
Created from	Clydesdale Hamilton North & Bellshill Hamilton South
Replaced by	Hamilton and Clyde Valley

Historically a safe Labour seat, in 2015 it was gained by the Scottish National Party when they won a record 56 of the 59 Scottish seats at Westminster, ending 51 years of Labour Party dominance at UK general elections in Scotland. Two years later, at the 2017 general election, the Conservatives surged into second place, only 266 votes behind sitting MP Angela Crawley, followed by Labour in third place, just 96 votes behind the Conservative candidate, making the seat Britain's tightest three-way marginal. The result also made it the tightest three-way marginal since 1945.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Subject to major boundary changes - gaining western areas of Hamilton and losing the towns of Bothwell, Uddingston and Carluke - to be reformed as Hamilton and Clyde Valley, and was first contested at the 2024 general election.^[1]

Constituency profile

The seat covered most of Hamilton and the rural area around Lanark. Electoral Calculus described the seat as "Traditional", characterised by working class people with lower levels of income and formal education.^[2]

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2005-2024

As created by the Fifth Review of the Boundary Commission for Scotland^[3] the constituency was one of six covering the Dumfries and Galloway council area, the Scottish Borders council area and the South Lanarkshire council area. The other five constituencies were: Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, and Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

The constituency was created with the electoral wards of:

• In full: Bothwell and Uddingston, Clydesdale North, Clydesdale West, Larkhall.
• In part: Clydesdale East, Clydesdale South, Hamilton North and East, Hamilton South, Hamilton West and Earnock.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[4]	Party
	2005	Jimmy Hood	Labour
	2015	Angela Crawley	SNP

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Lanark and Hamilton East^[5][6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Angela Crawley	22,243	41.9	+9.3
	Conservative	Shona Haslam	17,056	32.1	0.0
	Labour	Andrew Hilland	10,736	20.2	−11.7
	Liberal Democrats	Jane Pickard	3,037	5.7	+3.3
Majority			5,187	9.8	+9.3
Turnout			53,072	68.3	+3.0
	SNP hold		Swing	+4.6

General election 2017: Lanark and Hamilton East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Angela Crawley	16,444	32.6	−16.2
	Conservative	Poppy Corbett	16,178	32.1	+16.2
	Labour	Andrew Hilland	16,084	31.9	+1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Robb	1,214	2.4	+0.2
	UKIP	Donald Mackay	550	1.1	−1.5
Majority			266	0.5	−17.8
Turnout			50,470	65.3	−3.8
	SNP hold		Swing	-16.2

General election 2015: Lanark and Hamilton East^[8][9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Angela Crawley	26,976	48.8	+27.8
	Labour	Jimmy Hood	16,876	30.5	−19.5
	Conservative	Alex Allison	8,772	15.9	+0.9
	UKIP	Donald Mackay	1,431	2.6	+1.3
	Liberal Democrats	Gregg Cullen	1,203	2.2	−9.1
Majority			10,100	18.3	N/A
Turnout			55,258	69.1	+6.8
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing	+23.6

General election 2010: Lanark and Hamilton East^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jimmy Hood	23,258	50.0	+4.0
	SNP	Clare Adamson	9,780	21.0	+3.2
	Conservative	Colin McGavigan	6,981	15.0	+2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Douglas Herbison	5,249	11.3	−7.3
	Independent	Duncan McFarlane	670	1.4	+0.4
	UKIP	Rob Sale	616	1.3	+0.3
Majority			13,478	29.0	+1.6
Turnout			46,554	62.3	+3.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.3

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Lanark and Hamilton East^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jimmy Hood	20,072	46.0	−4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Fraser Grieve	8,125	18.6	+7.3
	SNP	John Wilson	7,746	17.8	−4.1
	Conservative	Robert Pettigrew	5,576	12.8	+0.3
	Scottish Socialist	Dennis Reilly	802	1.8	−1.3
	UKIP	Donald Mackay	437	1.0	+0.5
	Independent	Duncan McFarlane	416	1.0	New
	Christian Vote	Robin Mawhinney	415	1.0	New
Majority			11,947	27.4
Turnout			43,589	59.1
	Labour win (new seat)

References

1. Boundary Commission Scotland 2023 Review Report
2. Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Lanark+and+Hamilton+East
3. "UK Parliament constituencies 2005 onwards: Lanark and Hamilton East" (PDF). Boundary Commission for Scotland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 1)
5. "UK Parliamentary general election - Thursday 12 December 2019". South Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
6. "Lanark & Hamilton East parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 14 December 2019.
7. "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
8. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. Council, South Lanarkshire. "South Lanarkshire Council online information | Council and government | Elections". www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk.
10. "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
11. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Lanark & Hamilton East". news.bbc.co.uk.
13. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

External links

• Lanark and Hamilton East UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2005 – May 2024) at MapIt UK

55.524°N 3.704°W / 55.524; -3.704