Rutherglen (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Rutherglen (Scottish Parliament constituency) or Rutherglen (Parliament of Scotland constituency).

Rutherglen is a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The seat first existed between 1918 and 2005 (known latterly as Glasgow Rutherglen) and was re-established under the final recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Scotland as part of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election.^[2][3] In the intervening period, the seat was largely replaced by Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

Rutherglen
Burgh constituency for the House of Commons
Rutherglen shown within Scotland.
Subdivisions of Scotland	South Lanarkshire
Electorate	71,612 (March 2020)[1]
Major settlements	Rutherglen, Cambuslang, Blantyre, Bothwell, Uddingston
Current constituency
Created	2024
Member of Parliament	Michael Shanks (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
1918–2005
Seats	One
Type of constituency	Burgh constituency
Created from	Mid Lanarkshire
Replaced by	Rutherglen and Hamilton West Glasgow Central Glasgow South

The seat has been held since 2024 by Michael Shanks of Scottish Labour. Shanks had been the MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West since a by-election victory in 2023.

Boundaries

Map of boundaries from 2024

1918–1949: "The burgh of Rutherglen and the parts of the Lower Ward and Middle Ward County Districts which are contained within the parishes of Carmunnock, Cambuslang, and Blantyre, and the extra-burghal portion of the parish of Rutherglen."

1950–1974: The Burgh of Rutherglen, and the eighth district [of Lanarkshire].^[4]

• 
  Map of the constituency in Lanarkshire electoral region, 1950 boundary

1974–1983: The Burgh of Rutherglen, and parts of the eighth and ninth districts.^[5]

1983–1997: The City of Glasgow District electoral divisions of Toryglen/Rutherglen, Glenwood/Fernhill, and Cambuslang/Halfway.^[6]

Under the Fifth Review of UK Parliament constituencies, the constituency was abolished and largely absorbed into Rutherglen and Hamilton West with small areas becoming parts of Glasgow Central and Glasgow South.

2024–present: The South Lanarkshire council wards of Blantyre, Bothwell and Uddingston, Cambuslang East, Cambuslang West, Rutherglen Central and North, and Rutherglen South.^[7][8]

The re-established constituency comprised the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency with the addition of Bothwell and Uddingston (previously in the abolished Lanark and Hamilton East constituency) and the loss of territory within Hamilton which was assigned to the new Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1918–2005

Election		Member	Party
	1918	Adam Keir Rodger	Coalition Liberal
	1922	William Wright	Labour
	1931 by-election	David Hardie	Labour
	1931	Herbert James Moss	Conservative
	1935	Allan Chapman	Conservative
	1945	Gilbert McAllister	Labour
	1951	Richard Brooman-White	Conservative
	1964 by-election	Gregor Mackenzie	Labour
	1987	Tommy McAvoy[9]	Labour Co-operative
2005		constituency abolished

MPs 2024–present

Election		Member	Party
	2024	Michael Shanks	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Rutherglen ^[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Shanks	21,460	50.5	+19.3
	SNP	Katy Loudon	12,693	29.9	−13.2
	Reform UK	David Stark	2,685	6.3	New
	Conservative	Gary Burns	2,420	5.7	−11.6
	Liberal Democrats	Gloria Adebo	1,714	4.0	−3.2
	Scottish Socialist	Bill Bonnar	541	1.3	New
	Alba	Jim Eadie	497	1.2	New
	Scottish Family	John McArthur	321	0.8	New
	Independent	Andrew Daly	153	0.4	New
Majority			8,767	20.6
Turnout			42,484	58.5	−9.9
Registered electors			72,674
	Labour gain from SNP		Swing	+16.2

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result [a] [12]
Party		Vote	%
	Scottish National Party	21,127	43.1
	Labour	15,272	31.2
	Conservative	8,462	17.3
	Liberal Democrats	3,526	7.2
	UK Independence Party	629	1.3
Majority		5,855	11.9
Turnout		49,016	68.4
Electorate		71,612

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Glasgow Rutherglen^{[13] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tommy McAvoy	16,760	57.4	−0.1
	SNP	Anne McLaughlin	4,135	14.1	−1.2
	Liberal Democrats	David Jackson	3,689	12.6	−1.9
	Conservative	Malcolm MacAskill	3,301	11.3	+2.0
	Scottish Socialist	Bill Bonnar	1,328	4.5	+3.8
Majority			12,625	43.3	+1.1
Turnout			29,213	56.3	−13.8
Registered electors			51,855
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.5

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Glasgow Rutherglen^[15][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tommy McAvoy	20,430	57.52	+4.14
	SNP	Ian Gray	5,423	15.27	−0.31
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Brown	5,167	14.55	+2.89
	Conservative	David Campbell Bannerman	3,288	9.26	−9.90
	Independent Labour	George Easton	812	2.29	New
	Scottish Socialist	Rosie Kane	251	0.71	New
	Referendum	Julia Kerr	150	0.42	New
Majority			15,007	42.25	+3.75
Turnout			35,521	70.10	−5.12
Registered electors			50,673
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.22

General election 1992: Glasgow Rutherglen^[16][17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tommy McAvoy	21,962	55.38	−0.63
	Conservative	Brian Cooklin	6,692	16.88	+5.38
	SNP	John Higgins	6,470	16.32	+8.22
	Liberal Democrats	David Baillie	4,470	11.27	−13.12
	International Communist Party	Barbara Slaughter	62	0.16	New
Majority			15,270	38.50	+6.88
Turnout			39,656	75.22	−2.00
Registered electors			52,719
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.01

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Glasgow Rutherglen^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tommy McAvoy	24,790	56.01	+7.67
	Liberal	Robert Brown	10,795	24.39	−3.44
	Conservative	Graeme Hamilton	5,088	11.50	−6.52
	SNP	John Higgins	3,584	8.10	+2.62
Majority			13,995	31.62	+11.11
Turnout			44,257	77.22	+2.07
Registered electors			57,313
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.56

General election 1983: Glasgow Rutherglen^[21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gregor Mackenzie	21,510	48.34	−2.40
	Liberal	Robert Brown	12,384	27.83	+11.18
	Conservative	Helen Hodgins	8,017	18.02	−5.15
	SNP	Kenneth Fee	2,438	5.48	−3.79
	Workers Revolutionary	Christopher Corrigan	148	0.33	New
Majority			9,126	20.51	+0.31
Turnout			44,497	75.15	−5.27
Registered electors			59,209
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.79

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Rutherglen^[23][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gregor Mackenzie	18,546	46.70	+2.31
	Conservative	Paul Burns	10,523	26.50	+2.47
	Liberal	Robert Brown	7,315	18.42	+12.12
	SNP	Michael Grieve	3,325	8.37	−16.91
Majority			8,023	20.20	+1.09
Turnout			39,709	80.42	+1.58
Registered electors			49,379
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.08

General election October 1974: Rutherglen^[23][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gregor Mackenzie	17,099	44.39	−3.19
	SNP	Ian Ogilvie Bayne	9,732	25.28	+10.04
	Conservative	John Thomson	9,248	24.03	−13.14
	Liberal	Robert Brown	2,424	6.30	New
Majority			7,356	19.11	+8.70
Turnout			38,492	78.84	−3.78
Registered electors			48,824
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.61

General election February 1974: Rutherglen^[23][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gregor Mackenzie	19,005	47.58	−4.70
	Conservative	John Thomson	14,852	38.17	−6.16
	SNP	Louisa Leslie	6,089	15.24	New
Majority			4,153	10.41	+1.46
Turnout			39,946	82.62	+3.11
Registered electors			48,351
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.73

General election 1970: Rutherglen^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gregor Mackenzie	17,751	52.28	−1.82
	Conservative	Peter C Hutchison	14,710	43.33	+3.80
	Independent Scottish Nationalist	David H Livingstone	1,490	4.39	New
Majority			3,041	8.95	−5.62
Turnout			33,951	79.51	−4.71
Registered electors			42,702
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.81

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Rutherglen^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gregor Mackenzie	18,621	54.10	+1.50
	Conservative	John H Young	13,607	39.53	−3.27
	SNP	Andrew Peacock	2,194	6.37	+1.77
Majority			5,014	14.57	+4.77
Turnout			34,422	84.22	−2.00
Registered electors			40,870
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.39

General election 1964: Rutherglen^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gregor Mackenzie	18,943	52.60	+4.67
	Unionist	Iain Sproat	15,413	42.80	−9.27
	SNP	Robert N Armstrong	1,657	4.60	New
Majority			3,530	9.80	N/A
Turnout			36,013	86.22	+0.37
Registered electors			41,771
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+6.97

1964 Rutherglen by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gregor Mackenzie	18,885	55.51	+7.58
	Unionist	Iain Sproat	15,138	44.49	−7.58
Majority			3,747	11.02	N/A
Turnout			34,023
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+7.6

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Rutherglen^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Richard Brooman-White	19,146	52.07	−0.83
	Labour	Eddie Milne	17,624	47.93	+0.83
Majority			1,522	4.14	−1.67
Turnout			36,770	85.85	+1.74
Registered electors			42,833
	Unionist hold		Swing	-0.83

General election 1955: Rutherglen^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Richard Brooman-White	19,141	52.90	+2.45
	Labour	Gilbert McAllister	17,040	47.10	−2.45
Majority			2,101	5.80	+4.90
Turnout			36,181	84.11	−3.63
Registered electors			43,016
	Unionist hold		Swing	+2.45

General election 1951: Rutherglen^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Richard Brooman-White	19,554	50.45	+2.76
	Labour	Gilbert McAllister	19,202	49.55	+0.02
Majority			352	0.90	N/A
Turnout			38,756	87.74	+1.65
Registered electors			44,173
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing	+1.37

General election 1950: Rutherglen^[33][34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gilbert McAllister	18,779	49.53	−10.12
	Unionist	Richard Brooman-White	18,084	47.69	+7.34
	Liberal	Christian Beveridge Goodfellow	1,055	2.78	New
Majority			695	1.83	−17.46
Turnout			37,918	86.09	+1.65
Registered electors			44,044
	Labour hold		Swing	-8.73

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Rutherglen^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gilbert McAllister	24,738	59.65	+10.36
	Unionist	Allan Chapman	16,736	40.35	−10.36
Majority			8,002	19.30	N/A
Turnout			41,474	76.55	−3.44
Registered electors			54,180
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+10.36

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Rutherglen^[36][37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Allan Chapman	20,712	50.71	−6.10
	Labour	David Hardie	20,131	49.29	+6.10
Majority			581	1.42	−12.20
Turnout			40,843	79.99	−1.62
Registered electors			51,063
	Unionist hold		Swing	-6.10

General election 1931: Rutherglen^[38][39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Herbert Moss	22,185	56.81	+20.3
	Labour	David Hardie	16,866	43.19	−9.0
Majority			5,319	13.62	N/A
Turnout			39,051	81.61	+5.9
Registered electors			47,848
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing	+14.65

Rutherglen by-election, 1931^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Hardie	16,736	51.3	−0.9
	Unionist	Herbert Moss	15,853	48.6	+12.1
Majority			883	2.7	−13.0
Turnout			32,589	69.6	−6.1
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.7

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Rutherglen ^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wright	17,538	52.2	+0.1
	Unionist	Arthur Patterson Duffes	12,249	36.5	−11.4
	Liberal	James MacDougall	2,945	8.8	New
	Communist	Alex Moffat	842	2.5	New
Majority			5,289	15.7	+11.5
Turnout			33,574	75.7	−4.4
Registered electors			44,378
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.8

General election 1924: Rutherglen ^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wright	13,796	52.1	−2.4
	Unionist	Robert McLaren	12,707	47.9	+15.8
Majority			1,089	4.2	−18.2
Turnout			26,503	80.1	+7.8
Registered electors			33,081
	Labour hold		Swing	−9.1

General election 1923: Rutherglen ^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wright	13,021	54.5	−0.6
	Unionist	Robert McLaren	7,652	32.1	New
	Liberal	John Taylor	3,201	13.4	−31.5
Majority			5,369	22.4	+12.2
Turnout			23,874	72.3	−6.1
Registered electors			33,007
	Labour hold		Swing	+15.5

General election 1922: Rutherglen ^[44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wright	14,029	55.1	+14.2
	National Liberal	John Train	11,440	44.9	−14.2
Majority			2,589	10.2	N/A
Turnout			25,469	78.4	+21.4
Registered electors			32,487
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+14.2

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Rutherglen ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Liberal	Adam Keir Rodger	12,641	59.1
	Labour	William Regan	8,759	40.9
Majority			3,882	18.2
Turnout			21,400	57.0
Registered electors			37,518
	Liberal win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Notes

1. Estimate of the 2019 general election result as if the revised boundaries recommended under the 2023 boundary review were in place