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Lanark — UK General Election Results

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

Lanark was won by Labour at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 5,139 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Lanark from 1918 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1918–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1918 Walter Elliot Elliot (Unionist) 12,976 69.0% James Welsh (Labour) 7,155 (38.1 pts) 68.5%
1922 Walter Elliot Elliot (Unionist) 12,005 55.0% Thomas Scott Dickson (Labour) 2,193 (10.1 pts) 75.0%
1923 Thomas Scott Dickson (Labour) 11,384 50.5% Walter Elliot Elliot (Unionist) 230 (1.0 pts) 74.9%
1924 Stephen Mitchell (Unionist) 12,714 48.4% Thomas Scott Dickson (Labour) 1,288 (4.9 pts) 84.3%
1929 Thomas Scott Dickson (Labour) 15,054 48.7% Stephen Mitchell (Unionist) 2,402 (7.8 pts) 78.8%
1931 Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home (Unionist) 20,675 63.6% Jack Gibson (Independent Labour) 8,860 (27.3 pts) 82.5%
1935 Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home (Unionist) 17,759 56.8% Jack Gibson (Labour) 6,809 (21.8 pts) 76.0%
1945 Tom Steele (Labour) 17,784 52.8% Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home (Unionist) 1,884 (5.6 pts) 74.8%
1950 Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home (Unionist) 19,890 50.9% Tom Steele (Labour) 685 (1.8 pts) 84.7%
1951 Patrick Francis Maitland (Unionist) 21,467 52.2% William Taylor (Labour) 1,793 (4.4 pts) 87.0%
1955 Patrick Francis Maitland (Unionist) 21,828 51.1% John Mackie (Labour) 958 (2.2 pts) 85.9%
1959 Judith Constance Mary Hart (Labour) 25,171 50.5% Patrick Francis Maitland (Unionist) 540 (1.1 pts) 87.2%
1964 Judith Constance Mary Hart (Labour) 30,242 54.8% William Beale (Unionist) 5,320 (9.6 pts) 86.0%
1966 Judith Hart (Labour) 29,735 51.7% William Beale (Conservative) 7,740 (13.4 pts) 83.7%
1970 Judith Hart (Labour) 30,194 45.0% Alan MacDougall (Conservative) 2,473 (3.7 pts) 78.9%
Feb 1974 Judith Hart (Labour) 16,823 41.7% Alan MacDougall (Conservative) 2,100 (5.2 pts) 84.1%
Oct 1974 Judith Hart (Labour) 14,948 37.6% Tom McAlpine (SNP) 698 (1.8 pts) 82.2%
1979 Judith Hart (Labour) 18,118 43.2% Arthur John Armstrong Bell (Conservative) 5,139 (12.2 pts) 81.8%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Walter Elliot Elliot Unionist 12,97669.0% Yes
James Welsh Labour 5,82131.0% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Walter Elliot Elliot Unionist 12,00555.0% Yes
Thomas Scott Dickson Labour 9,81245.0% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Scott Dickson Labour 11,38450.5% Yes
Walter Elliot Elliot Unionist 11,15449.5% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Stephen Mitchell Unionist 12,71448.4% Yes
Thomas Scott Dickson Labour 11,42643.5% No
Elizabeth Mitchell Liberal 2,1268.1% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Scott Dickson Labour 15,05448.7% Yes
Stephen Mitchell Unionist 12,65241.0% No
James Mullo Weir Liberal 3,17910.3% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Unionist 20,67563.6% Yes
Jack Gibson Independent Labour 11,81536.4% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Unionist 17,75956.8% Yes
Jack Gibson Labour 10,95035.0% No
William Carlin Independent Labour 2,5838.3% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Tom Steele Labour 17,78452.8% Yes
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Unionist 15,90047.2% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Unionist 19,89050.9% Yes
Tom Steele Labour 19,20549.1% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Francis Maitland Unionist 21,46752.2% Yes
William Taylor Labour 19,67447.8% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Francis Maitland Unionist 21,82851.1% Yes
John Mackie Labour 20,87048.9% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Judith Constance Mary Hart Labour 25,17150.5% Yes
Patrick Francis Maitland Unionist 24,63149.5% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Judith Constance Mary Hart Labour 30,24254.8% Yes
William Beale Unionist 24,92245.2% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Judith Hart Labour 29,73551.7% Yes
William Beale Conservative 21,99538.2% No
Henry Rankin SNP 5,83810.1% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Judith Hart Labour 30,19445.0% Yes
Alan MacDougall Conservative 27,72141.3% No
Henry Rankin SNP 7,85911.7% No
David McDowall Communist 1,2731.9% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Judith Hart Labour 16,82341.7% Yes
Alan MacDougall Conservative 14,72336.5% No
Tom McAlpine SNP 8,80321.8% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Judith Hart Labour 14,94837.6% Yes
Tom McAlpine SNP 14,25035.8% No
Arthur John Armstrong Bell Conservative 9,22223.2% No
Frederick McDermid Liberal 1,3743.5% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Judith Hart Labour 18,11843.2% Yes
Arthur John Armstrong Bell Conservative 12,97930.9% No
Tom McAlpine SNP 7,90218.8% No
Frederick McDermid Liberal 2,9677.1% No

Margin Over Time

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

1918: Unionist margin 38.1 pts 1922: Unionist margin 10.1 pts 1923: Labour margin 1.0 pts 1924: Unionist margin 4.9 pts 1929: Labour margin 7.8 pts 1931: Unionist margin 27.3 pts 1935: Unionist margin 21.8 pts 1945: Labour margin 5.6 pts 1950: Unionist margin 1.8 pts 1951: Unionist margin 4.4 pts 1955: Unionist margin 2.2 pts 1959: Labour margin 1.1 pts 1964: Labour margin 9.6 pts 1966: Labour margin 13.4 pts 1970: Labour margin 3.7 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 5.2 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 1.8 pts 1979: Labour margin 12.2 pts 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979

Trend

Lanark has been contested at 18 general elections on record since 1918. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Unionist, Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Lanark in the 1979 general election?

Labour won Lanark in 1979 with 18,118 votes (43.2%), a majority of 5,139 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won Lanark since 1918?

Since 1918, Lanark has been won by: Labour, Unionist.

What was the closest result in Lanark?

The closest result on record for Lanark was 1923, when Labour beat Unionist by just 230 votes (1.0 percentage points).

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