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Glasgow Govan — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Glasgow Govan was won by Labour at the 2001 general election, with a majority of 6,400 votes over SNP. This page covers every general election in Glasgow Govan from 1885 to 2001.

Full Election History, 1885–2001

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1885 William Pearce (Conservative) 3,677 51.0% Bennet Graham Burleigh (Liberal-Labour) 155 (2.1 pts) 80.1%
1886 William Pearce (Conservative) 3,574 52.7% Thomas Alexander Dickson (Liberal) 362 (5.3 pts) 75.4%
1892 John Wilson (Liberal) 4,829 55.8% Nathaniel Spens (Conservative) 1,000 (11.6 pts) 77.6%
1895 John Wilson (Liberal) 4,290 49.0% George Ferguson (Liberal Unionist) 261 (3.0 pts) 76.6%
1900 Robert Hunter Craig (Liberal) 5,744 50.7% Robert Duncan (Conservative) 164 (1.5 pts) 76.5%
1906 Robert Duncan (Conservative) 5,224 35.9% Harry S Murray (Liberal) 128 (0.9 pts) 82.9%
Dec 1910 William Hunter (Liberal) 8,409 56.9% George Balfour (Conservative) 2,040 (13.8 pts) 79.9%
Jan 1910 William Hunter (Liberal) 6,556 43.1% Robert Duncan (Conservative) 1,429 (9.4 pts) 84.6%
1918 Neil Maclean (Labour) 9,577 47.8% Alexander McClure (Unionist) 815 (4.1 pts) 63.2%
1922 Neil Maclean (Labour) 15,441 62.3% Helen Fraser (National Liberal) 6,105 (24.6 pts) 81.1%
1923 Neil Maclean (Labour) 13,987 66.3% Henry Anderson Watt (Liberal) 6,892 (32.7 pts) 68.5%
1924 Neil Maclean (Labour) 15,132 63.2% Harry Stanley (Unionist) 6,317 (26.4 pts) 76.0%
1929 Neil Maclean (Independent Labour) 17,384 57.7% Douglas Douglas-Hamilton (Unionist) 4,646 (15.4 pts) 75.1%
1931 Neil Maclean (Labour) 15,047 51.0% Alexander McClure (Unionist) 605 (2.1 pts) 75.4%
1935 Nial Maclean (Labour) 15,791 51.0% Alexander McClure (Unionist) 5,580 (18.0 pts) 74.7%
1945 Neil Maclean (Labour) 18,668 66.1% Jack Nixon Browne (Unionist) 9,082 (32.1 pts) 63.9%
1950 Jack Nixon Browne (Unionist) 19,267 46.6% John Davis (Labour) 373 (0.9 pts) 84.0%
1951 Jack Nixon Browne (Unionist) 20,936 50.3% John Davis (Labour) 241 (0.6 pts) 84.9%
1955 John Rankin (Labour) 24,818 62.0% Alexander G Hutton (Unionist) 9,602 (24.0 pts) 71.8%
1959 John Rankin (Labour) 23,139 60.4% Alexander G Hutton (Unionist) 9,820 (25.6 pts) 75.0%
1964 John Rankin (Labour) 20,326 65.0% Peter Breuer (Unionist) 10,755 (34.4 pts) 70.3%
1966 John Rankin (Labour) 18,533 67.9% Peter Breuer (Conservative) 10,856 (39.8 pts) 67.5%
1970 John Rankin (Labour) 13,443 60.1% Gerald Fox Belton (Conservative) 7,142 (31.9 pts) 63.3%
Oct 1974 Harry Selby (Labour) 11,392 49.5% Margo MacDonald (SNP) 1,952 (8.5 pts) 71.7%
Feb 1974 Harry Selby (Labour) 10,326 43.2% Margo MacDonald (SNP) 543 (2.3 pts) 74.9%
1979 Andy McMahon (Labour) 11,676 67.9% John Walker (Conservative) 8,488 (49.3 pts) 69.1%
1983 Bruce Millan (Labour) 20,370 55.0% Alastair McDonald (Social Democratic Party) 13,057 (35.2 pts) 71.6%
1987 Bruce Millan (Labour) 24,071 64.8% Alasdair Ferguson (Social Democratic Party) 19,509 (52.5 pts) 73.4%
1992 Ian Davidson (Labour) 17,051 48.9% Jim Sillars (SNP) 4,125 (11.8 pts) 76.0%
1997 Mohammad Sarwar (Labour) 14,216 44.1% Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) 2,914 (9.0 pts) 64.7%
2001 Mohammad Sarwar (Labour) 12,464 49.3% Karen Neary (SNP) 6,400 (25.3 pts) 46.8%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Pearce Conservative 3,67751.0% Yes
Bennet Graham Burleigh Liberal-Labour 3,52248.8% No
David George Hoey Independent Liberal 110.2% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Pearce Conservative 3,57452.7% Yes
Thomas Alexander Dickson Liberal 3,21247.3% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Wilson Liberal 4,82955.8% Yes
Nathaniel Spens Conservative 3,82944.2% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Wilson Liberal 4,29049.0% Yes
George Ferguson Liberal Unionist 4,02946.1% No
Alexander Haddow Independent Labour 4304.9% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Hunter Craig Liberal 5,74450.7% Yes
Robert Duncan Conservative 5,58049.3% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Duncan Conservative 5,22435.9% Yes
Harry S Murray Liberal 5,09635.1% No
John Hill Labour 4,21229.0% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hunter Liberal 8,40956.9% Yes
George Balfour Conservative 6,36943.1% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hunter Liberal 6,55643.1% Yes
Robert Duncan Conservative 5,12733.7% No
James Thomas Brownlie Labour 3,54523.3% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Neil Maclean Labour 9,57747.8% Yes
Alexander McClure Unionist 8,76243.8% No
Daniel Turner Holmes Liberal 1,6788.4% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Neil Maclean Labour 15,44162.3% Yes
Helen Fraser National Liberal 9,33637.7% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Neil Maclean Labour 13,98766.3% Yes
Henry Anderson Watt Liberal 7,09533.7% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Neil Maclean Labour 15,13263.2% Yes
Harry Stanley Unionist 8,81536.8% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Neil Maclean Independent Labour 17,38457.7% Yes
Douglas Douglas-Hamilton Unionist 12,73842.3% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Neil Maclean Labour 15,04751.0% Yes
Alexander McClure Unionist 14,44249.0% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Nial Maclean Labour 15,79151.0% Yes
Alexander McClure Unionist 10,21133.0% No
Thomas Taylor Independent Labour 4,95916.0% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Neil Maclean Labour 18,66866.1% Yes
Jack Nixon Browne Unionist 9,58633.9% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Jack Nixon Browne Unionist 19,26746.6% Yes
John Davis Labour 18,89445.7% No
Thomas Ronald Leslie Fraser Liberal 1,6283.9% No
William Lauchlan Communist 1,5473.7% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Jack Nixon Browne Unionist 20,93650.3% Yes
John Davis Labour 20,69549.7% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Rankin Labour 24,81862.0% Yes
Alexander G Hutton Unionist 15,21638.0% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Rankin Labour 23,13960.4% Yes
Alexander G Hutton Unionist 13,31934.8% No
Gordon McLennan Communist 1,8694.9% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Rankin Labour 20,32665.0% Yes
Peter Breuer Unionist 9,57130.6% No
Gordon McLennan Communist 1,3784.4% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Rankin Labour 18,53367.9% Yes
Peter Breuer Conservative 7,67728.1% No
Gordon McLennan Communist 1,1034.0% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Rankin Labour 13,44360.1% Yes
Gerald Fox Belton Conservative 6,30128.2% No
Michael Grieve SNP 2,29410.3% No
Thomas Biggam Communist 3261.5% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harry Selby Labour 11,39249.5% Yes
Margo MacDonald SNP 9,44041.0% No
Margaret Osborne Todd Conservative 1,6237.1% No
Edwin Watson Mason Liberal 4441.9% No
Michael Alexander Boomer Brooks National Front 860.4% No
Thomas Clyde Independent 270.1% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harry Selby Labour 10,32643.2% Yes
Margo MacDonald SNP 9,78340.9% No
John Mair Conservative 3,04912.7% No
Peter McMillan Liberal 7633.2% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Andy McMahon Labour 11,67667.9% Yes
John Walker Conservative 3,18818.5% No
Thomas Wilson SNP 2,34013.6% No

1983

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Bruce Millan Labour 20,37055.0% Yes
Alastair McDonald Social Democratic Party 7,31319.7% No
Ian McKenzie Conservative 7,18019.4% No
Peter Mclean Kindlen SNP 2,2076.0% No

1987

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Bruce Millan Labour 24,07164.8% Yes
Alasdair Ferguson Social Democratic Party 4,56212.3% No
Janet Girsman Conservative 4,41111.9% No
Felix McCabe SNP 3,85110.4% No
Douglas Chalmers Communist 2370.6% No

1992

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ian Davidson Labour 17,05148.9% Yes
Jim Sillars SNP 12,92637.1% No
James Donnelly Conservative 3,4589.9% No
Bob Stewart Liberal Democrat 1,2273.5% No
David Spaven Green 1810.5% No

1997

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Mohammad Sarwar Labour 14,21644.1% Yes
Nicola Sturgeon SNP 11,30235.1% No
William Thomas Conservative 2,8398.8% No
Bob Stewart Liberal Democrat 1,9185.9% No
Alan McCombes Scottish Socialist Alliance 7552.3% No
Peter Paton Independent 3251.0% No
Islam Badar Independent 3191.0% No
Zahid Abbasi Independent 2210.7% No
Kenneth MacDonald Referendum Party 2010.6% No
James White BNP 1490.5% No

2001

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Mohammad Sarwar Labour 12,46449.3% Yes
Karen Neary SNP 6,06424.0% No
Bob Stewart Liberal Democrat 2,81511.1% No
Mark Menzies Conservative 2,1678.6% No
Wullie McGartland Scottish Socialist 1,5316.1% No
John Foster Communist 1740.7% No
Badar Mirza Independent 690.3% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1885: Conservative margin 2.1 pts 1886: Conservative margin 5.3 pts 1892: Liberal margin 11.6 pts 1895: Liberal margin 3.0 pts 1900: Liberal margin 1.5 pts 1906: Conservative margin 0.9 pts Dec 1910: Liberal margin 13.8 pts Jan 1910: Liberal margin 9.4 pts 1918: Labour margin 4.1 pts 1922: Labour margin 24.6 pts 1923: Labour margin 32.7 pts 1924: Labour margin 26.4 pts 1929: Independent Labour margin 15.4 pts 1931: Labour margin 2.1 pts 1935: Labour margin 18.0 pts 1945: Labour margin 32.1 pts 1950: Unionist margin 0.9 pts 1951: Unionist margin 0.6 pts 1955: Labour margin 24.0 pts 1959: Labour margin 25.6 pts 1964: Labour margin 34.4 pts 1966: Labour margin 39.8 pts 1970: Labour margin 31.9 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 8.5 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 2.3 pts 1979: Labour margin 49.3 pts 1983: Labour margin 35.2 pts 1987: Labour margin 52.5 pts 1992: Labour margin 11.8 pts 1997: Labour margin 9.0 pts 2001: Labour margin 25.3 pts 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 Dec 1910 Jan 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Oct 1974 Feb 1974 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001

Trend

Glasgow Govan has been contested at 31 general elections on record since 1885. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Liberal, Labour, Independent Labour, Unionist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Glasgow Govan in the 2001 general election?

Labour won Glasgow Govan in 2001 with 12,464 votes (49.3%), a majority of 6,400 votes over SNP in second place.

Which parties have won Glasgow Govan since 1885?

Since 1885, Glasgow Govan has been won by: Conservative, Independent Labour, Labour, Liberal, Unionist.

What was the closest result in Glasgow Govan?

The closest result on record for Glasgow Govan was 1951, when Unionist beat Labour by just 241 votes (0.6 percentage points).

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