Airdrie and Shotts
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Airdrie and Shotts in Scotland for the 2005 general election
Subdivisions of ScotlandNorth Lanarkshire
Major settlementsAirdrie, Caldercruix, Shotts
Current constituency
Created1997
Member of ParliamentAnum Qaisar (SNP)
Created fromMonklands East
Overlaps
Scottish ParliamentCentral Scotland

Airdrie and Shotts is a constituency of the UK House of Commons, located in central Scotland within the North Lanarkshire council area. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system of voting.

The constituency has existed since 1997; however, it underwent significant boundary changes in 2005. Before 2015, it could have been described as a safe seat for the Labour Party, who held it with a majority of over 12,000 votes until Neil Gray of the Scottish National Party (SNP) was elected at that year's general election. Former MPs for the constituency include: Pamela Nash, former Baby of the House, John Reid, former Labour Home Secretary and Defence Secretary, and Helen Liddell, former Labour Scottish Secretary.

It is a generally working-class, urban seat, and contains the towns of Airdrie, Calderbank, Chapelhall, Glenmavis and Shotts.

From 2015-21, the Member of Parliament for the seat was Neil Gray of the SNP. He resigned in March 2021 to run for a seat in the Scottish Parliament, triggering a by-election.[1]

Constituency profile

The majority of this constituency maintains the boundaries of its predecessor. From the North Lanarkshire constituency come Holytown and Newarthill. This seat is positioned on either side of the M8 motorway to Glasgow. Small semi-urban towns such as Shotts (including Stane and Dykehead) were added to Airdrie in the 1997 redistribution to form this seat, the predecessor of which was Monklands East. An area in the eastern part of Coatbridge is also part of the constituency.

Electoral Calculus describes the seat as "Traditional", characterised by working class people with lower levels of income and formal education.[2]

Boundaries and history

1997–2005: The Monklands District electoral divisions of Airdrie North and Airdrie South, and the Motherwell District electoral division of Fortissat.

2005–present: The North Lanarkshire Council wards of academy, Airdrie Central, Airdrie North,[3] Airdrie South,[3] Benhar, Calderbank, Chapelhall, Clarkston, Craigneuk and Petersburn, Dykehead, Holytown, New Monkland West, Newarthill, Newmains, North Cairnhill and Coatdyke, Plains and Caldercruix, Salsburgh, South East Cairnhill and Gartlea, Stane, and Whinhall. In 2007 these were converted into multi-member wards, with the following falling within the constituency: Airdrie Central, Airdrie North, Airdrie South, Fortissat, Mossend and Holytown (part), Murdostoun (part).

The 2005 changes saw the seat lose some territory to Motherwell and Wishaw whilst gaining part of Hamilton North and Bellshill. It proved to be a Labour Party stronghold from its creation until the Scottish National Party gained it at the 2015 general election, with Neil Gray winning the seat from Pamela Nash by 8,779 votes. Gray's majority dipped to just 195 in the 2017 election. However, in the 2019 election he won by 5,201 votes.[4]

On 24 March 2021 it was formally announced that Neil Gray had officially stood down as the Member of Parliament for Airdrie and Shotts to contest the 2021 Scottish Parliament election seat of the same name.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember[5]Party
1997 Helen Liddell Labour
2005 John Reid Labour
2010 Pamela Nash Labour
2015 Neil Gray SNP
2021 by-election Anum Qaisar SNP

Election results

Elections in the 2020s

By-election 2021: Airdrie and Shotts
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Anum Qaisar 10,129 46.4 +1.4
Labour Kenneth Stevenson 8,372 38.4 +6.5
Conservative Ben Callaghan 2,812 12.9 –4.7
Liberal Democrats Stephen Arrundale 220 1.0 –2.6
SDP Neil Manson 151 0.7 New
Scottish Unionist Jonathan Stanley 59 0.3 New
Reform UK Martyn Greene 45 0.2 New
UKIP Donald Mackay 39 0.2 New
Majority 1,757 8.0 –5.1
Turnout 21,827 34.3 –28.0
SNP hold Swing –2.5

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Airdrie and Shotts[6][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Neil Gray 17,929 45.0 +7.4
Labour Helen McFarlane 12,728 31.9 −5.2
Conservative Lorraine Nolan 7,011 17.6 −5.6
Liberal Democrats William Crossman 1,419 3.6 +1.5
Scottish Green Rosemary McGowan 685 1.7 New
Majority 5,201 13.1 +12.6
Turnout 39,772 62.3 +3.1
SNP hold Swing +6.3
General election 2017: Airdrie and Shotts[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Neil Gray 14,291 37.6 −16.3
Labour Helen McFarlane 14,096 37.1 +3.0
Conservative Jennifer Donnellan 8,813 23.2 +15.5
Liberal Democrats Ewan McRobert 802 2.1 +0.6
Majority 195 0.5 −19.3
Turnout 38,002 59.2 −6.9
SNP hold Swing -9.7
General election 2015: Airdrie and Shotts[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Neil Gray 23,887 53.9 +30.4
Labour Pamela Nash 15,108 34.1 −24.1
Conservative Eric Holford 3,389 7.7 −1.0
UKIP Matthew Williams 1,088 2.5 New
Liberal Democrats John Love 678 1.5 −6.6
Independent Deryck Beaumont 136 0.3 New
Majority 8,779 19.8 New
Turnout 44,286 66.3 +8.8
SNP gain from Labour Swing +27.2
General election 2010: Airdrie and Shotts[10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Pamela Nash 20,849 58.2 −0.8
SNP Sophia Coyle 8,441 23.5 +7.0
Conservative Ruth Whitfield 3,133 8.7 −1.2
Liberal Democrats John Love 2,898 8.1 −3.3
Independent John McGeechan 528 1.5 New
Majority 12,408 34.7 −7.8
Turnout 35,849 57.5 +4.0
Labour hold Swing −3.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Airdrie and Shotts[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Reid 19,568 59.0 +0.4
SNP Malcolm Balfour 5,484 16.5 −2.7
Liberal Democrats Helen Watt 3,792 11.4 +3.5
Conservative Stuart Cottis 3,271 9.9 +3.8
Scottish Socialist Fraser Coats 706 2.1 −1.6
Scottish Independence Party Joseph Rowan 337 1.0 New
Majority 14,084 42.5 +3.6
Turnout 33,158 53.5 −0.9
Labour hold Swing +1.5
General election 2001: Airdrie and Shotts[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Helen Liddell 18,478 58.2 −3.6
SNP Alison Lindsay 6,138 19.3 −5.1
Liberal Democrats John Love 2,376 7.5 +3.3
Conservative Gordon McIntosh 1,960 6.2 −2.7
Scottish Unionist Mark Dempsey 1,439 4.5 New
Scottish Socialist Kenny McGuigan 1,171 3.7 New
Socialist Labour Chris Herriot 174 0.5 New
Majority 12,340 38.9 +1.5
Turnout 31,736 54.4 −17.0
Labour hold Swing +0.7

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Airdrie and Shotts[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Helen Liddell 25,460 61.8 N/A
SNP Keith R.A. Robertson 10,048 24.4 N/A
Conservative Nicholas H. Brook 3,660 8.9 N/A
Liberal Democrats Richard G. Wolseley 1,719 4.2 N/A
Referendum Crawford Semple 294 0.7 N/A
Majority 15,412 37.4 N/A
Turnout 41,181 71.4 N/A
Labour win (new seat)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sim, Philip [@BBCPhilipSim] (24 March 2021). "This is now confirmed: Neil Gray has gone from being MP for Airdrie and Shotts to the Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead (...which is one way of quitting Westminster) - and as of tomorrow will be the SNP candidate to be MSP for Airdrie and Shotts. By-election incoming" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 March 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ "Airdrie and Shotts: Seat Details". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 Baxter, Martin (14 September 2018). "Seat Details". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Airdrie & Shotts parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  5. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 1)
  6. ↑ "UK Parliamentary Elections 2019". North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  7. ↑ "Election Data 2017". Politics Resources. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Election results". North Lanarkshire Council. 5 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Election 2010 - Constituency - Airdrie & Shotts". BBC News. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  12. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

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