# Glasgow Hillhead (UK Parliament constituency)

Glasgow Hillhead was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) using the first-past-the-post voting system.

## Boundaries

1918–1950: "That portion of the city which is bounded by a line commencing at a point in the municipal boundary at its intersection with the centre line of the River Kelvin, thence southeastward, southward and southwestward along the centre line of the River Kelvin to the centre line of the North British Railway (Stobcross Branch), thence north-westward along the centre of the said North British Railway to its intersection with the municipal boundary, thence northeastward along the municipal boundary to the point of commencement".
1950–1955: The Kelvinside and Partick (West) wards of the county of the city of Glasgow, and part of the Partick (East) ward.
1955–1974: The Kelvinside and Partick West wards of the county of the city of Glasgow, and part of the Whiteinch ward.
1974–1983: The Glasgow wards of Kelvinside, Partick West, and Whiteinch.
1983–1997: The City of Glasgow District electoral divisions of Kelvindale/Kelvinside, Partick/Anderston, and Scotstoun/Broomhill.

## History

Along with Glasgow Cathcart, Hillhead was one of two safe Conservative Party seats in Glasgow for several decades. However, Labour reduced the Conservatives' majorities in both constituencies in the 1970s; Labour even won Cathcart in 1979 (making it the only seat the Conservative Party lost in its electoral victory that year), while Hillhead remained Conservative with a narrow majority. In the subsequent by-election of 1982, the Conservatives lost their last seat in Glasgow not to Labour, but to the year-old SDP, with the former Labour cabinet minister Roy Jenkins becoming the new MP for the constituency. Jenkins retained the seat for the SDP in the 1983 general election, but lost the seat to George Galloway of the Labour Party in 1987.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1918 | Sir Robert Horne | Conservative |
| | 1937 by-election | James Reid | Conservative |
| | 1948 by-election | Tam Galbraith | Conservative |
| | 1982 by-election | Roy Jenkins | SDP |
| | 1987 | George Galloway | Labour |
| 1997 | 1997 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Robert Horne | 12,803 | 75.4 | |
| | Labour | John Izett | 4,186 | 24.6 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,617 | 50.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,989 | 63.4 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 26,798 | | |
| | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Robert Horne | 12,272 | 62.7 | −12.7 |
| | Liberal | Edwin James Donaldson | 7,313 | 37.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,959 | 25.4 | −25.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,585 | 75.5 | +12.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 25,951 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1923: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Robert Horne | 9,757 | 51.0 | −11.7 |
| | Labour | John L. Kinloch | 5,059 | 26.4 | New |
| | Liberal | Edwin James Donaldson | 4,331 | 22.6 | −14.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,698 | 24.6 | −0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,147 | 73.2 | −2.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 26,165 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +1.5 | |
General election 1924: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Robert Horne | 14,572 | 67.7 | +16.7 |
| | Labour | John L. Kinloch | 6,957 | 32.3 | +5.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,615 | 35.4 | +10.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,101 | 78.2 | +5.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,522 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +5.4 | |
General election 1929: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Robert Horne | 17,395 | 63.3 | −4.4 |
| | Labour | William Sloan Cormack | 10,065 | 36.7 | +4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,330 | 26.6 | −8.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,460 | 74.9 | −3.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 36,660 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −4.4 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Robert Horne | 21,279 | 73.84 | +10.5 |
| | Labour | Charles Aloysius O'Donnell | 7,539 | 26.16 | −10.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,740 | 47.68 | +21.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,818 | 80.0 | +5.1 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
* O'Donnell endorsed by constituency party but not by borough party
General election 1935: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Robert Horne | 18,367 | 68.20 | |
| | Labour | James McCullock | 8,566 | 31.80 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,801 | 36.40 | −11.28 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,933 | 73.24 | −6.8 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
1937 Glasgow Hillhead by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | James Reid | 12,539 | 56.52 | −11.68 |
| | Labour | Gilbert McAllister | 7,539 | 33.98 | +2.18 |
| | SNP | John MacCormick | 1,886 | 8.50 | New |
| | Independent | David J. Black | 221 | 1.00 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,000 | 22.54 | −13.85 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,185 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | James Reid | 14,909 | 58.6 | −9.6 |
| | Labour | Hugh Turner McCalman | 8,545 | 33.6 | +1.8 |
| | Liberal | John Gray Wilson | 2,003 | 7.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,364 | 25.0 | −11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,457 | 66.0 | −7.2 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
1948 Glasgow Hillhead by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Tam Galbraith | 16,060 | 68.4 | +9.8 |
| | Labour | Thomas Alexander MacNair | 7,419 | 31.6 | −2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,641 | 36.8 | +11.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,479 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Tam Galbraith | 23,181 | 60.73 | +2.1 |
| | Labour | George Thomson | 12,920 | 33.85 | +0.2 |
| | Liberal | Pamela Gibson | 2,072 | 5.43 | −2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,261 | 26.88 | +1.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,173 | 82.17 | +16.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,455 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +0.9 | |
General election 1951: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Tam Galbraith | 24,654 | 64.86 | +4.13 |
| | Labour | Hyman Shapiro | 13,359 | 35.14 | +1.29 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,295 | 29.72 | +2.84 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,013 | 82.21 | +0.04 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,238 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +1.42 | |
General election 1955: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Tam Galbraith | 20,106 | 67.57 | +2.71 |
| | Labour | Jane B. Davidson | 9,648 | 32.43 | −2.71 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,458 | 35.14 | +5.42 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,754 | 79.92 | −9.29 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 40,802 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +2.71 | |
General election 1959: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Tam Galbraith | 20,094 | 68.32 | +0.75 |
| | Labour | Thomas B. Duncan | 9,317 | 31.68 | −0.75 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,777 | 36.64 | +1.49 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,411 | 77.08 | −2.84 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 38,154 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +0.75 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Tam Galbraith | 16,993 | 64.0 | −4.3 |
| | Labour | Thomas B. Duncan | 9,572 | 36.0 | +4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,421 | 28.0 | −8.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,565 | 74.7 | −2.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 35,580 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −4.4 | |
General election 1966: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tam Galbraith | 15,899 | 62.9 | −1.1 |
| | Labour | William Boyle | 9,384 | 37.1 | +1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,515 | 25.8 | −2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,283 | 73.5 | −1.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 34,388 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.1 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tam Galbraith | 14,674 | 61.3 | −1.6 |
| | Labour | Vince Cable | 7,303 | 30.5 | −6.6 |
| | SNP | George Wotherspoon | 1,957 | 8.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,371 | 30.8 | +5.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,934 | 69.5 | −4.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tam Galbraith | 14,378 | 44.0 | −17.3 |
| | Labour | D. Welsh | 7,997 | 24.4 | −6.1 |
| | Liberal | Louise Steedman | 6,644 | 20.3 | New |
| | SNP | Keith Sydney Bovey | 3,702 | 11.3 | +3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,381 | 19.6 | −11.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,721 | 78.8 | +9.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tam Galbraith | 11,203 | 37.1 | −6.9 |
| | Labour | D. Welsh | 8,507 | 28.2 | +3.8 |
| | SNP | G. Borthwick | 6,897 | 22.9 | +11.6 |
| | Liberal | Alan Rennie | 3,596 | 11.9 | −8.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,696 | 8.9 | −10.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,203 | 72.4 | −6.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1979: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tam Galbraith | 12,368 | 41.0 | +3.9 |
| | Labour | Richard Mowbray | 10,366 | 34.4 | +6.2 |
| | Liberal | Marshall Harris | 4,349 | 14.4 | +2.5 |
| | SNP | G. Borthwick | 3,050 | 10.1 | −12.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,002 | 6.6 | −2.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,133 | 71.9 | −0.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.2 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

1982 Glasgow Hillhead by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SDP | Roy Jenkins | 10,106 | 33.4 | +19.0 |
| | Conservative | Gerry Malone | 8,068 | 26.6 | −14.4 |
| | Labour | David Wiseman | 7,846 | 25.9 | −8.5 |
| | SNP | George Leslie | 3,416 | 11.3 | +1.2 |
| | Protestant Crusade against the Papal Visit | Jack Glass | 388 | 1.3 | New |
| | Social Democrat (1979) | Roy Harold Jenkins | 282 | 0.9 | New |
| | Ecology | Nicolette Carlaw | 178 | 0.6 | New |
| | Public Safety Democratic Monarchist White Resident | Bill Boaks | 5 | 0.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,038 | 6.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,289 | 76.4 | +4.5 |
| | SDP gain from Conservative | SDP gain from Conservative | Swing | +23.9 | |
General election 1983: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SDP | Roy Jenkins | 14,856 | 36.2 | |
| | Labour | Neil Carmichael | 13,692 | 33.4 | |
| | Conservative | Murray Tosh | 9,678 | 23.5 | |
| | SNP | George Leslie | 2,203 | 5.4 | |
| | Ind. Conservative | John P. Davidson | 249 | 0.6 | |
| | Ecology | Alastair Whitelaw | 239 | 0.6 | N/A |
| | Animal Rights Campaign - Scottish Anti-Vivisection | John Frederick Robins | 139 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,164 | 2.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,056 | 71.9 | |
| | SDP gain from Labour | SDP gain from Labour | Swing | | |
The constituency's boundaries were significantly altered for the 1983 general election and it was estimated by the BBC and ITN that on the new boundaries Labour would have captured the seat with a majority of just over 2,000 votes in 1979, thus making this a notional SDP gain from Labour. Neil Carmichael was the sitting Labour MP for the Glasgow Kelvingrove constituency which had been abolished for this election.
General election 1987: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Galloway | 17,958 | 42.9 | +9.5 |
| | SDP | Roy Jenkins | 14,707 | 35.1 | −1.1 |
| | Conservative | Brian David Cooklin | 6,048 | 14.5 | −9.0 |
| | SNP | Bill Kidd | 2,713 | 6.5 | +1.1 |
| | Green | Alastair Whitelaw | 443 | 1.1 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,251 | 7.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,869 | 72.4 | +0.5 |
| | Labour gain from SDP | Labour gain from SDP | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Glasgow Hillhead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Galloway | 15,148 | 38.5 | −4.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Mason | 10,322 | 26.2 | −8.9 |
| | Conservative | Aileen Bates | 6,728 | 17.1 | +2.6 |
| | SNP | Sandra White | 6,484 | 16.5 | +10.0 |
| | Scottish Green | Lizbeth R. Collie | 558 | 1.4 | +0.3 |
| | Revolutionary Communist | Helen Gold | 73 | 0.2 | New |
| | Natural Law | Duncan Patterson | 60 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,826 | 12.3 | +4.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,373 | 68.7 | −3.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |