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North Lanarkshire — UK General Election Results

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

North Lanarkshire was won by Labour at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 10,820 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in North Lanarkshire from 1868 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1868–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1868 Thomas Edward Colebrooke (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1874 Thomas Edward Colebrooke (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1880 Thomas Edward Colebrooke (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1918 Robert McLaren (Unionist) 7,175 43.2% Joseph Sullivan (Labour) 1,502 (9.0 pts) 41.6%
1922 Joseph Sullivan (Labour) 10,349 47.3% Robert McLaren (Unionist) 2,392 (10.9 pts) 72.1%
1923 Joseph Sullivan (Labour) 10,526 50.5% Alexander McClure (Unionist) 3,361 (16.1 pts) 65.3%
1924 Alexander Sprot (Unionist) 13,880 53.9% Joseph Sullivan (Labour) 2,028 (7.9 pts) 79.9%
1929 Janet Lee (Labour) 19,884 55.9% Mungo David Malcolm Murray (Unionist) 4,204 (11.8 pts) 78.6%
1931 William John St Clair Anstruther-Gray (Unionist) 24,384 55.3% Janet Lee (Independent Labour) 4,693 (10.7 pts) 82.2%
1935 William John St Clair Anstruther-Gray (Unionist) 22,301 48.1% Janet Lee (Independent Labour) 5,034 (10.9 pts) 78.1%
1945 Margaret McRorie Herbison (Labour) 30,251 59.6% William John St Clair Anstruther-Gray (Unionist) 9,762 (19.2 pts) 73.3%
1950 Margaret McCrorie Herbison (Labour) 22,162 58.3% Thomas Douglas Ross (Unionist) 7,350 (19.3 pts) 84.7%
1951 Margaret McCrorie Herbison (Labour) 22,304 58.2% William How (Unionist) 6,304 (16.5 pts) 85.4%
1955 Margaret McCrorie Herbison (Labour) 20,307 57.9% Alexander Forbes Hendry (Unionist) 5,523 (15.7 pts) 81.5%
1959 Margaret McCrorie Herbison (Labour) 21,152 58.7% George Kenneth Hotson Younger (Unionist) 6,269 (17.4 pts) 82.8%
1964 Margaret McCrorie Herbison (Labour) 23,385 60.6% John Alexander Corrie (Unionist) 8,193 (21.2 pts) 82.0%
1966 Margaret Herbison (Labour) 23,160 60.9% Robert Black (Conservative) 8,303 (21.8 pts) 79.2%
1970 John Smith (Labour) 21,982 51.8% Robert Black (Conservative) 5,019 (11.8 pts) 77.9%
Feb 1974 John Smith (Labour) 21,448 48.4% Alan Michael Stanley Pickering (Conservative) 6,784 (15.3 pts) 82.7%
Oct 1974 John Smith (Labour) 19,902 46.3% Phyllis Watt (SNP) 8,341 (19.4 pts) 79.5%
1979 John Smith (Labour) 25,015 55.5% Grant James Robertson (Conservative) 10,820 (24.0 pts) 79.7%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1868

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Edward Colebrooke Liberal Unopposed Yes

1874

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Edward Colebrooke Liberal Unopposed Yes

1880

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Edward Colebrooke Liberal Unopposed Yes

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert McLaren Unionist 7,17543.2% Yes
Joseph Sullivan Labour 5,67334.1% No
Alexander Galloway Erskine-Hill Liberal 3,06818.5% No
J R Auld Independent 7104.3% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Sullivan Labour 10,34947.3% Yes
Robert McLaren Unionist 7,95736.4% No
John Charles Carroll Liberal 3,56916.3% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Sullivan Labour 10,52650.5% Yes
Alexander McClure Unionist 7,16534.3% No
Edward McNab Liberal 3,16815.2% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Sprot Unionist 13,88053.9% Yes
Joseph Sullivan Labour 11,85246.1% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Janet Lee Labour 19,88455.9% Yes
Mungo David Malcolm Murray Unionist 15,68044.1% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William John St Clair Anstruther-Gray Unionist 24,38455.3% Yes
Janet Lee Independent Labour 19,69144.7% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William John St Clair Anstruther-Gray Unionist 22,30148.1% Yes
Janet Lee Independent Labour 17,26737.3% No
Gilbert McAlister Labour 6,76314.6% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Margaret McRorie Herbison Labour 30,25159.6% Yes
William John St Clair Anstruther-Gray Unionist 20,48940.4% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Margaret McCrorie Herbison Labour 22,16258.3% Yes
Thomas Douglas Ross Unionist 14,81239.0% No
Robert Frank Brian Nelson Liberal 1,0232.7% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Margaret McCrorie Herbison Labour 22,30458.2% Yes
William How Unionist 16,00041.8% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Margaret McCrorie Herbison Labour 20,30757.9% Yes
Alexander Forbes Hendry Unionist 14,78442.1% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Margaret McCrorie Herbison Labour 21,15258.7% Yes
George Kenneth Hotson Younger Unionist 14,88341.3% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Margaret McCrorie Herbison Labour 23,38560.6% Yes
John Alexander Corrie Unionist 15,19239.4% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Margaret Herbison Labour 23,16060.9% Yes
Robert Black Conservative 14,85739.1% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Smith Labour 21,98251.8% Yes
Robert Black Conservative 16,96340.0% No
James Hutchison SNP 3,4868.2% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Smith Labour 21,44848.4% Yes
Alan Michael Stanley Pickering Conservative 14,66433.1% No
Phyllis Watt SNP 8,18718.5% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Smith Labour 19,90246.3% Yes
Phyllis Watt SNP 11,56126.9% No
John Crichton Conservative 9,66522.5% No
Alexander Paton Brodie Liberal 1,8994.4% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Smith Labour 25,01555.5% Yes
Grant James Robertson Conservative 14,19531.5% No
John Ernest Victor Ralston SNP 5,88713.1% No

Margin Over Time

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

1918: Unionist margin 9.0 pts 1922: Labour margin 10.9 pts 1923: Labour margin 16.1 pts 1924: Unionist margin 7.9 pts 1929: Labour margin 11.8 pts 1931: Unionist margin 10.7 pts 1935: Unionist margin 10.9 pts 1945: Labour margin 19.2 pts 1950: Labour margin 19.3 pts 1951: Labour margin 16.5 pts 1955: Labour margin 15.7 pts 1959: Labour margin 17.4 pts 1964: Labour margin 21.2 pts 1966: Labour margin 21.8 pts 1970: Labour margin 11.8 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 15.3 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 19.4 pts 1979: Labour margin 24.0 pts 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979

Trend

North Lanarkshire has been contested at 21 general elections on record since 1868. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Liberal, Unionist, Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won North Lanarkshire in the 1979 general election?

Labour won North Lanarkshire in 1979 with 25,015 votes (55.5%), a majority of 10,820 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won North Lanarkshire since 1868?

Since 1868, North Lanarkshire has been won by: Labour, Liberal, Unionist.

What was the closest result in North Lanarkshire?

The closest result on record for North Lanarkshire was 1924, when Unionist beat Labour by just 2,028 votes (7.9 percentage points).

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