Rutherglen (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Rutherglen (Parliament of Scotland constituency), Glasgow Rutherglen (Scottish Parliament constituency), or Glasgow Rutherglen (UK Parliament constituency).

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

Rutherglen
Burgh constituency for the Scottish Parliament
Rutherglen shown within the Glasgow electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population	77,568 (2019)[1]
Current constituency
Created	2011
Party	Scottish National Party
MSP	Clare Haughey
Council area	South Lanarkshire
Created from	Glasgow Rutherglen

Originally called Glasgow Rutherglen, the boundaries were redrawn and the new constituency renamed simply Rutherglen for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election. The seat has been held by Clare Haughey of the Scottish National Party since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

Electoral region

See also: Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other eight constituencies of the Glasgow region are: Glasgow Anniesland, Glasgow Cathcart, Glasgow Kelvin, Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Glasgow Pollok, Glasgow Provan, Glasgow Shettleston and Glasgow Southside.

The region covers the Glasgow City council area and a north-western portion of the South Lanarkshire council area.^[2]

Constituency boundaries and council areas

Map of boundaries from 2011

The redrawn seat of Rutherglen consists of the following electoral wards:

• In full: Rutherglen South; Rutherglen Central and North; Cambuslang West; Cambuslang East
• In part: Blantyre (shared with Uddingston and Bellshill)

Constituency profile

BBC profile for 2016 election:^[3]

Rutherglen was once a burgh - the oldest in Scotland - until local government reorganisation in 1975, and lies to the south east of Glasgow city centre. The name Rutherglen is said to come from Gaelic for "reddish glen" after the red clay found here. At its northern border it blends into Glasgow's suburbs, though the town has always striven to maintain a distinct identity from Glasgow, which it predates by 500 years. The seat includes not only Rutherglen itself but also the town of Cambuslang, Burnside and the housing scheme at Fernhill, as well as Blantyre, all of which lie within the local government control of South Lanarkshire. Steel and pottery have been major industries in the past, but both have been in decline. Janis Hughes won the seat for the Labour Party in the 1999 and 2003 elections. James Kelly then held the seat in 2007 and 2011.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	2011	James Kelly	Labour
	2016	Clare Haughey	SNP

Election results

2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Rutherglen^[4][5]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Clare Haughey[a]	20,249	50.5	4.3	16,970	42.3	0.8
	Labour Co-op	James Kelly[b][c]	15,083	37.6	2.8	11,005	27.4	1.0
	Conservative	Lynne Nailon	3,663	9.1	2.2	5,903	14.7	1.8
	Green					2,883	7.2	2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Sheila Thomson	1,112	2.8	4.9	1,011	2.5	1.6
	Alba					710	1.8	New
	All for Unity					356	0.9	New
	Independent Green Voice					273	0.7	New
	Scottish Libertarian					222	0.6	New
	Scottish Family					204	0.5	New
	Reform UK					104	0.3	New
	Abolish the Scottish Parliament					95	0.2	New
	Freedom Alliance (UK)					88	0.2	New
	Women's Equality					74	0.2	0.4
	Communist					61	0.2	New
	TUSC					59	0.1	New
	UKIP					52	0.1	2.1
	Independent	Craig Ross				35	0.1	New
	SDP					17	0.0	New
	Reclaim					14	0.0	New
	Independent	Daniel Donaldson				10	0.0	New
	Renew					8	0.0	New
Majority			5,166	12.9	1.5
Valid Votes			40,107			40,154
Invalid Votes			162			82
Turnout			40,269	63.5	9.0	40,236	63.3	8.8
	SNP hold		Swing		3.6
Notes Incumbent member for this constituency Kelly stood on a joint ticket on behalf of Scottish Labour and the Scottish Co-operative Party. The regional list vote was for Scottish Labour only. Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Rutherglen^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Clare Haughey	15,222	46.2	6.7	14,256	43.1	4.1
	Labour Co-op	James Kelly[a][b]	11,479	34.8	11.3	9,372	28.4	10.0
	Conservative	Taylor Muir	3,718	11.3	3.6	4,269	12.9	6.2
	Green					1,555	4.7	2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Brown	2,533	7.7	3.3	1,351	4.1	1.1
	UKIP					719	2.2	1.7
	Solidarity					405	1.2	New
	BUP					336	1.0	New
	Animal Welfare					213	0.6	New
	RISE					202	0.6	New
	Women's Equality					188	0.6	New
	Scottish Christian					161	0.5	0.3
	Independent	Andrew McCullagh				29	0.1	New
Majority			3,743	11.4	N/A
Valid Votes			32,952			33,056
Invalid Votes			135			56
Turnout			33,087	54.5	7.4	33,112	54.5	7.4
	SNP gain from Labour Co-op		Swing		9.0
Notes Kelly stood on a joint ticket on behalf of Scottish Labour and the Scottish Co-operative Party. The regional list vote was for Scottish Labour only. Incumbent member for this constituency

2011 Scottish Parliament election: Rutherglen^[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	James Kelly[a][b]	12,489	46.1	N/A	10,411	38.4	N/A
	SNP	James McGuigan	10,710	39.5	N/A	10,587	39.0	N/A
	Conservative	Martyn McIntyre	2,096	7.7	N/A	1,807	6.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Lisa Strachan	1,174	4.4	N/A	815	3.0	N/A
	Green					710	2.6	N/A
	Respect					637	2.3	N/A
	All-Scotland Pensioners Party					513	1.9	N/A
	BNP					363	1.3	N/A
	Scottish Unionist					294	1.1	N/A
	Socialist Labour					274	1.0	N/A
	Scottish Christian					206	0.8	N/A
	Scottish Socialist					143	0.5	N/A
	UKIP					142	0.5	N/A
	Independent	Caroline Johnstone	633	2.3	N/A	127	0.5	N/A
	Pirate					54	0.2	N/A
	Scottish Homeland Party					30	0.1	N/A
Majority			1,779	6.6	N/A
Valid Votes			27,102			27,113
Invalid Votes			94			82
Turnout			27,196	47.1	N/A	27,195	47.1	N/A
	Labour Co-op win (new seat)
Notes Kelly stood on a joint ticket on behalf of Scottish Labour and the Scottish Co-operative Party. The regional list vote is for Scottish Labour only. Incumbent member for the Glasgow Rutherglen constituency

• Previous elections: See Glasgow Rutherglen.