2023 Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
2023 Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election

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Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency
Boundary of the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in Scotland
MP before election Margaret Ferrier Independent Elected MP TBD

A by-election is a special election held to choose a new Member of Parliament (MP) for a specific area. This one took place in the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West. It happened because the previous MP, Margaret Ferrier, was removed from her job.

Margaret Ferrier was not allowed to work in the House of Commons for 30 days in 2023. This was because she broke rules about COVID-19 in 2020. When an MP is suspended for more than 10 days, a special vote called a recall petition can be started. Enough people in her area signed this petition. This meant Margaret Ferrier had to leave her seat as MP, and a by-election was needed to pick a new one. The election was held on 5 October 2023.

What is the Rutherglen and Hamilton West Area Like?

Rutherglen and Hamilton West is an area near Greater Glasgow in Scotland. It stretches east along the River Clyde and south into Lanarkshire. This area used to have many heavy industries, like coal mining. However, coal mining stopped there a long time ago, around 1950.

Some parts of Rutherglen and Hamilton West are known to be among the most in need in Scotland. Most people in the area live in the town of Rutherglen. Many also live in the western parts of Hamilton.

How the Area's Elections Have Changed

This election area was created for the 2005 general election. It was formed from two older areas called Glasgow Rutherglen and Hamilton South. At first, the Labour Party usually won here easily.

In the 2010 election, the Labour MP Tommy McAvoy stepped down. Another Labour politician, Tom Greatrex, won the seat and even got more votes. The area was seen as a "safe seat" for Labour. This means Labour was expected to win there every time.

However, things changed in the 2015 general election. Margaret Ferrier from the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the seat. She beat Tom Greatrex by almost 10,000 votes. This was part of a big win for the SNP across Scotland that year.

In the quick election of 2017, Labour's Ged Killen won the seat back. He won by only 265 votes, which is a very small difference. Then, in the 2019 general election, Margaret Ferrier won again. She beat Ged Killen by 5,000 votes. Even with this win, it is still considered a "marginal seat" for the SNP. This means the SNP could easily lose it in the next election.

Why a Recall Petition Happened

What Led to the Petition

Margaret Ferrier was first elected as an MP for the SNP in 2015. She lost her seat in 2017 but won it back in 2019. In September 2020, she broke important COVID-19 rules.

She felt sick and took a COVID-19 test. While waiting for her results, she traveled from Scotland to London by train. That evening, she spoke in a debate in Parliament. She found out she had COVID-19 that same night. The next morning, she traveled back to Scotland, again by train.

After this, she was suspended from the SNP. She also reported herself to the police and Parliament's rules authorities. In January 2021, the police investigated her actions. She admitted she was wrong and was given 270 hours of community service.

In March 2023, a special committee in Parliament suggested she be suspended for 30 days. She tried to challenge this decision but lost her appeal in May 2023. The independent panel said she "acted with clear and dishonest intentions." They also said she put her own interests before the public's safety. On 6 June 2023, the House of Commons voted to suspend her for 30 days.

Under the Recall of MPs Act 2015, a recall petition starts automatically if an MP is suspended for more than 10 working days or 14 calendar days.

How the Petition Worked

On 6 June 2023, the local council was told by the Speaker of the House of Commons that a petition would begin. The petition opened on 20 June 2023 and lasted for six weeks, closing on 31 July. People who could vote were able to sign the petition in person at seven places. They could also sign by mail or by having someone else sign for them.

For the petition to succeed, 8,113 signatures were needed. This was 10% of the 81,124 people who could vote in the area. No updates were given on how many people had signed until the end. Both the Labour Party and the SNP supported the petition.

This was the fourth time such a petition had happened since the rule was made. It was also the first one in Scotland. On 1 August, it was announced that 11,896 people had signed. This was more than enough, so a by-election was officially triggered. This by-election was the first to happen during Humza Yousaf's time as First Minister.

The By-election

Who Wanted to Be the New MP?

Some political parties chose their candidates even before the petition ended. Margaret Ferrier said on 1 August that she would not try to be elected again.

The Labour Party chose Michael Shanks as their candidate. He had been a Labour candidate in another area in 2017. He left the party for a short time in 2019 but rejoined when Keir Starmer became leader.

On 9 June 2023, the SNP chose Katy Loudon, a local council member and former teacher. She represents the Cambuslang East area. On 27 August, the Alba Party said they would not put forward a candidate. They did this to avoid splitting the votes for Scottish independence.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) announced Chris Sermanni as their candidate. The Scottish Socialist Party chose Bill Bonnar.

On 3 August, the Scottish Conservatives chose Thomas Kerr. He has been a council member in Glasgow since 2017. He became the leader of the Conservative group on the council in 2019.

On 7 August, Reform UK announced David Stark as their candidate. He used to be a Conservative candidate in a local election. He was supported by UKIP on 6 September.

On 11 August, the Scottish Liberal Democrats chose Gloria Adebo. She had been a candidate for the party in a local election in 2022.

Volt UK chose Ewan Hoyle as their candidate. He had been a Liberal Democrat candidate in past elections. Cameron Eadie, a 20-year-old student, stood for the Scottish Greens.

When the Election Happened

The by-election was held on 5 October 2023. Parliament was on a break when the petition closed. The SNP officially asked for the election on the first day Parliament returned. This set the election for the earliest possible date.

The Campaign

Because everyone expected the election to happen, campaigning started early. The leaders of Scottish Labour, Anas Sarwar, and the SNP, Humza Yousaf, visited the area many times. This area is seen as a "marginal seat" where either the SNP or Labour could win.

This election was seen as a big test for Humza Yousaf as the new leader of the SNP and First Minister. It was also called a "must-win" election for Labour under Keir Starmer.

Some people thought that the "two-child benefit cap" would be an issue in the election. The SNP and the Greens are against this rule. The Economist magazine said that some SNP voters in the area were unsure about voting. This was because Nicola Sturgeon had resigned as First Minister. This was seen as a bad sign for the SNP keeping the seat.

A local issue that candidates talked about was Council Tax in South Lanarkshire. It was expected to go up, making the cost-of-living crisis worse. The local council had also been in the news. Their Labour leader, Joe Fagan, was suspended in June for supposedly sharing secret information. He later survived a vote to remove him. The local Labour party was also criticized by a council member who said there was a "toxic culture" in the group.

On 15 August, Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar met with voters in Rutherglen. On 21 August, other Labour leaders, Jackie Baillie and Angela Rayner, also campaigned in the area. The leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, Douglas Ross, was accused of not campaigning enough. He said he would visit the area later.

Previous Election Result

Images for kids

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  Boundary of the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in Scotland

See Also

• List of United Kingdom by-elections (2010–present)