Английская Википедия:1979 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

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Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Use British English

Шаблон:Infobox election

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A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 3 May 1979 and all 71 seats in Scotland were contested.[1]

Background

The 1979 Scottish devolution referendum, held on 1 March, had resulted a majority of those voting casting their votes in favour of the creation of a Scottish Assembly, but the rules of the referendum required at least 40% of the total electorate supporting the proposal, a total which was not reached. The minority Labour government, knowing that many of its own MPs would rebel if they pressed on with the legislation to create the Assembly, refused demands from the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru to do so. On 28 March, the SNP joined the Conservatives, Liberals and others in supporting a motion of no confidence in the Government which passed by one vote, forcing a general election.[2]

After the election, Anthony Finlay wrote in The Glasgow Herald that the SNP's support for the motion of no confidence "seemed an odd move at the time", but was based on the notion that Scottish electors would be so outraged at devolution not being enacted, despite winning the support of 52% who voted, that they would turn to the SNP in protest. As Finlay noted, the SNP's stance was to prove a "fundamental error of judgement".[3] At an election rally in Glasgow at the start of the campaign, Callaghan attacked the SNP's role in joining with the Conservatives to bring his Government down. He described them as "turkeys voting for Christmas" and urged his Scottish supporters to "carve them up in the polling booths."[4]

At the end of April, an Opinion Research Centre opinion poll for The Scotsman predicted Labour would win 42% of the votes in Scotland with the Conservatives winning 34%, the SNP 15% and the Liberal Party 8%.[5]

MPs

List of MPs for constituencies in Scotland (1979–1983)

Results

Party Seats Seats
change
Votes % %
change
Шаблон:Party name with colour 44 Шаблон:Increase 3 1,211,455 41.5 Шаблон:Increase 5.2
Шаблон:Party name with colour 22 Шаблон:Increase 6 916,155 31.4 Шаблон:Increase 6.7
Шаблон:Party name with colour 2 Шаблон:Decrease 9 504,259 17.3 Шаблон:Decrease 13.1
Шаблон:Party name with colour 3 Шаблон:Steady 262,224 9.0 Шаблон:Increase 0.7
Шаблон:Party name with colour no link 0 Шаблон:Steady 16,618 0.6 Шаблон:Decrease 0.2
Turnout: 2,916,637 76.84

Votes summary

Шаблон:Bar box

Шаблон:Bar box

Incumbents defeated

Party Name Constituency Office held whilst in Parliament Year elected Defeated by Party
rowspan=9 style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked Douglas Henderson East Aberdeenshire SNP Spokesman for Employment and Industry 1974 Albert McQuarrie style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked
Andrew Welsh South Angus SNP Spokesperson for Housing 1974 Peter Fraser style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked
Iain MacCormick Argyllshire 1974 John Mackay style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked
Hamish Watt Banffshire 1974 David Myles style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked
Margaret Ewing East Dunbartonshire 1974 Norman Hogg style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked
George Thompson Galloway 1974 Ian Lang style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked
Winnie Ewing Moray and Nairn SNP Spokesperson for External Affairs and EEC 1974 Alex Pollock style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked
Douglas Crawford Perth and East Perthshire 1974 Bill Walker style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked
George Reid Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire 1974 Martin O'Neill style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked
rowspan=1 style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked Teddy Taylor Glasgow Cathcart Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland (1976-1979) 1964 John Maxton style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked
rowspan=1 style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked Jim Sillars[6] South Ayrshire Leader of the Scottish Labour Party (1976–1979) 1970 George Foulkes style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" | Шаблон:Party shortname linked

Outcome

Of the 11 SNP MPs elected at the previous election, seven were defeated by Conservatives and two by Labour candidates. The two survivoring SNP MPs were Gordon Wilson in Dundee East and Donald Stewart in the Western Isles.[7] Wilson's survival was attributed by Anthony Finlay as being due to Labour's choice of Jimmy Reid as their candidate to oppose him.[3] Labour also gained Glasgow Cathcart from the Conservative's Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Teddy Taylor. Jim Sillars, a former Labour MP who had led the breakaway Scottish Labour Party lost his South Ayrshire seat to Labour's George Foulkes.[8]

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Шаблон:Scottish elections Шаблон:1979 United Kingdom general election