Uddingston and Bellshill (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Uddingston and Bellshill is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council areas of North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the Central Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Uddingston and Bellshill
Burgh constituency for the Scottish Parliament
Uddingston and Bellshill shown within the Central Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population	74,351 (2019)[1]
Current constituency
Created	2011
Party	SNP
MSP	Stephanie Callaghan
Council area	North Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire

The constituency was formed for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, and comprises parts of the former seat of Hamilton North and Bellshill, along with areas that were formerly in the seat of Motherwell and Wishaw.^[2]

The seat has been held by Stephanie Callaghan of the Scottish National Party since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Electoral region

See also: Central Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other nine constituencies of the Central Scotland region are: Airdrie and Shotts, Coatbridge and Chryston, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, East Kilbride, Falkirk East, Falkirk West, Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse and Motherwell and Wishaw.

The region covers all of the Falkirk council area, all of the North Lanarkshire council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.

Constituency boundaries and council areas

Map of boundaries from 2011

The Uddingston and Bellshill Holyrood constituency is one of five covering the North Lanarkshire council area, the others being Airdrie and Shotts, Coatbridge and Chryston, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and Motherwell and Wishaw. All five are within the Central Scotland electoral region. Part of the constituency includes territory within South Lanarkshire; it is one of five covering the South Lanarkshire council area, the others being Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse and East Kilbride which are within the Central Scotland region, Rutherglen within the Glasgow region, and Clydesdale within the South Scotland region.

At the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the constituency of Uddingston and Bellshill was fought for the first time. It was created from the electoral wards below:^[3]

• North Lanarkshire:
  • Thorniewood (whole ward)
  • Bellshill (whole ward)
  • Mossend and Holytown (whole ward)
  • Motherwell North (shared with Motherwell and Wishaw)
• South Lanarkshire:
  • Bothwell and Uddingston (whole ward)
  • Blantyre (shared with Rutherglen)
  • Hamilton North and East (shared with Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse)

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	2011	Michael McMahon	Labour
	2016	Richard Lyle	Scottish National Party
	2021	Stephanie Callaghan

Election results

2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Uddingston and Bellshill^[4][5][6]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Stephanie Callaghan	17,953	49.9	1.1	15,966	44.3	0.4
	Labour	Frank McNally	12,647	35.1	2.6	9,559	26.5	1.3
	Conservative	Bryan Flannagan	4,569	12.7	3.2	6,253	17.3	0.9
	Scottish Green					1,879	5.2	1.2
	Alba					629	1.7	New
	Liberal Democrats	Dawn Allan	821	2.3	0.4	592	1.6	0.2
	All for Unity					306	0.8	New
	Scottish Family					289	0.8	New
	Independent Green Voice					217	0.6	New
	Abolish the Scottish Parliament					89	0.2	New
	Scottish Libertarian					71	0.2	New
	Freedom Alliance (UK)					71	0.2	New
	Reform UK					61	0.2	New
	UKIP					54	0.1	2.2
	Independent	Paddy Hogg				34	0.1	New
Majority			5,306	14.8	1.5
Valid Votes			35,990			36,070
Invalid Votes			137			79
Turnout			36,127	61.0	9.7	36,149	61.0	9.4
	SNP hold		Swing		1.9
Notes

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Uddingston and Bellshill^[7][8]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Richard Lyle[a]	14,424	48.8	5.5	13,263	44.7	2.8
	Labour	Michael McMahon[b]	9,615	32.5	13.6	8,253	27.8	11.2
	Conservative	Andy Morrison	4,693	15.9	7.4	4,872	16.4	9.1
	Scottish Green					1,189	4.0	2.1
	UKIP					678	2.3	1.8
	Liberal Democrats	Kaitey Blair	811	2.7	0.6	531	1.8	0.4
	Solidarity					382	1.3	1.0
	RISE					218	0.7	New
	Scottish Christian					224	0.8	0.6
	Independent	Deryck Beaumont				49	0.2	New
Majority			4,809	16.3	N/A
Valid Votes			29,543			29,659
Invalid Votes			173			40
Turnout			29,716	51.3	6.2	29,699	51.5	6.4
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing		9.6
Notes Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency Incumbent member for this constituency

Scottish Parliament Election 2011: Uddingston and Bellshill^[9]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael McMahon[a]	11,531	46.1	N/A	9,754	39.0	N/A
	SNP	Richard Lyle[b]	10,817	43.3	N/A	10,493	41.9	N/A
	Conservative	Mark Brown	2,117	8.5	N/A	1,814	7.3	N/A
	Scottish Senior Citizens					603	2.4	N/A
	Scottish Green					482	1.9	N/A
	Scottish Christian					352	1.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Fraser MacGregor	530	2.1	N/A	342	1.4	N/A
	Socialist Labour					302	1.2	N/A
	BNP					235	0.9	N/A
	UKIP					121	0.5	N/A
	Independent	Hugh O'Donnell				103	0.4	N/A
	Scottish Socialist					95	0.4	N/A
	Solidarity					81	0.3	N/A
	Others					238	1.0	N/A
Majority			714	2.8	N/A
Valid Votes			24,995			25,015
Invalid Votes			101			81
Turnout			25,096	45.1	N/A	25,096	45.1	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
Notes Incumbent member for the Hamilton North and Bellshill constituency Elected on the party list