# Glasgow Gorbals (UK Parliament constituency)

Glasgow Gorbals was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Glasgow. From 1918 until 1974, it returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post system.

## Boundaries

The Representation of the People Act 1918 provided that the constituency was to consist of "That portion of the city which is bounded by a line commencing at a point on the municipal boundary at the centre line of the River Clyde about 77 yards east of the centre of Rutherglen Bridge, thence southwestward along the municipal boundary to the centre of the Caledonian Railway Main Line from Glasgow to Rutherglen, thence north-westward along the centre line of the said Caledonian Railway to the centre line of the Glasgow and South Western Railway, thence south-westward along the centre line of the said Glasgow and South Western Railway to the centre line of Victoria Road, thence northward along the centre line of Victoria Road, Eglinton Street, Bridge Street and Glasgow Bridge to the centre line of the River Clyde, thence south-eastward along the centre line of the River Clyde to the point of commencement."
1950–1955: The County of the City of Glasgow wards of Gorbals and Hutchesontown, and part of Govanhill ward.
1955–1974: The County of the City of Glasgow wards of Gorbals and Hutchesontown, and parts of Govanhill and Kingston wards.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1918 | George Barnes | Coalition Labour |
| | 1922 | George Buchanan | Labour |
| | 1931 | George Buchanan | Ind. Labour |
| | 1939 | George Buchanan | Labour Party |
| | 1948 by-election | Alice Cullen | Labour |
| | 1969 by-election | Frank McElhone | Labour |
| Feb 1974 | Feb 1974 | constituency abolished: see Glasgow Queen's Park | constituency abolished: see Glasgow Queen's Park |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frank McElhone | 10,260 | 69.3 | −3.8 |
| | Conservative | William Shearer | 3,071 | 20.8 | −2.0 |
| | SNP | Thomas Brady | 1,089 | 7.4 | N/A |
| | Communist | John Kay | 376 | 2.5 | −1.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,189 | 48.6 | −1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,796 | 59.7 | −2.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

1969 Glasgow Gorbals by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frank McElhone | 7,834 | 53.4 | −19.7 |
| | SNP | Thomas Brady | 3,671 | 25.0 | New |
| | Conservative | William Shearer | 2,732 | 18.6 | −4.2 |
| | Communist | John Kay | 361 | 2.5 | −1.6 |
| | Workers (Scotland) | Matt Lygate | 72 | 0.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,163 | 28.4 | −21.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,670 | 58.5 | −3.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1966: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alice Cullen | 14,453 | 73.1 | +1.7 |
| | Conservative | William C Hunter | 4,513 | 22.8 | −0.2 |
| | Communist | Margaret Hunter | 819 | 4.1 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,940 | 50.2 | +1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,785 | 61.7 | −2.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1964: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alice Cullen | 16,931 | 71.4 | +8.1 |
| | Unionist | William C Hunter | 5,455 | 23.0 | −7.8 |
| | Communist | Margaret Hunter | 1,339 | 5.6 | −0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,476 | 48.4 | +15.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,725 | 64.5 | −3.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alice Cullen | 20,731 | 63.3 | +2.1 |
| | Unionist | William C Hunter | 10,072 | 30.8 | −1.3 |
| | Communist | Peter Kerrigan | 1,932 | 5.9 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,659 | 32.6 | +3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,735 | 68.2 | +3.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1955: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alice Cullen | 22,567 | 61.2 | −0.6 |
| | Unionist | William B Thomson | 11,839 | 32.1 | +0.1 |
| | Communist | Peter Kerrigan | 2,491 | 6.8 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,728 | 29.1 | −0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,897 | 65.2 | −10.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1951: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alice Cullen | 25,288 | 61.8 | +2.8 |
| | Unionist | James A Young | 13,069 | 32.0 | +0.5 |
| | Communist | Peter Kerrigan | 2,553 | 6.2 | +0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,219 | 29.9 | +3.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,910 | 76.1 | −0.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1950: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alice Cullen | 24,137 | 58.0 | −22.0 |
| | Unionist | James A Young | 13,078 | 31.4 | +11.5 |
| | Communist | Peter Kerrigan | 2,435 | 5.9 | New |
| | Anti-Partition | William McGuinness | 1,959 | 4.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11.059 | 26.6 | −33.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,609 | 77.3 | +19.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1940s

1948 Glasgow Gorbals by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alice Cullen | 13,706 | 54.56 | −25.44 |
| | Unionist | W. Roxburgh | 7,181 | 28.59 | +8.59 |
| | Communist | Peter Kerrigan | 4,233 | 16.85 | +16.85 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,525 | 25.97 | −34.01 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,120 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +17.02 | |
General election 1945: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Buchanan | 21,073 | 80.0 | +74.1 |
| | Unionist | Ian Mactaggart | 5,269 | 20.0 | +9.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,804 | 60.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,342 | 56.9 | |
| | Labour gain from Ind. Labour Party | Labour gain from Ind. Labour Party | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Labour Party | George Buchanan | 22,860 | 75.02 | |
| | Unionist | M. Bloch | 5,824 | 19.11 | |
| | Labour | Alexander Burnett | 1,786 | 5.86 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,036 | 55.91 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,470 | | |
| | Ind. Labour Party gain from Independent Labour | Ind. Labour Party gain from Independent Labour | Swing | | |
General election 1931: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent Labour | George Buchanan | 19,278 | 58.12 | |
| | Unionist | M. Bloch | 11,264 | 33.96 | |
| | Communist | Harry McShane | 2,626 | 7.92 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,014 | 24.16 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,168 | | |
| | Independent Labour gain from Labour | Independent Labour gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Buchanan | 25,134 | 74.8 | +8.9 |
| | Unionist | Maurice Bloch | 8,457 | 25.2 | −8.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,677 | 49.6 | +17.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,591 | 68.5 | −4.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 49,004 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +8.9 | |
General election 1924: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Buchanan | 19,480 | 65.9 | −1.3 |
| | Unionist | Robert McLellan | 10,092 | 34.1 | +1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,388 | 31.8 | −2.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,572 | 73.0 | +9.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 40,483 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −1.3 | |
General election 1923: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Buchanan | 17,211 | 67.2 | +12.7 |
| | Unionist | Robert McLellan | 8,392 | 32.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,819 | 34.4 | +7.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,603 | 63.5 | −11.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 40,331 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1922: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Buchanan | 16,478 | 54.5 | +20.2 |
| | National Liberal | James Erskine Harper | 8,276 | 27.4 | New |
| | Independent Communist | John Maclean | 4,027 | 13.3 | New |
| | Liberal | Francis John Robertson | 1,456 | 4.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,202 | 27.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,237 | 75.1 | +21.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 40,251 | | |
| | Labour gain from Coalition Labour | Labour gain from Coalition Labour | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Glasgow Gorbals :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Coalition Labour | *George Barnes | 14,247 | 65.7 | |
| | Labour | John Maclean | 7,436 | 34.3 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,811 | 31.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,683 | 53.2 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 40,765 | | |
| | Coalition Labour win (new seat) | Coalition Labour win (new seat) | Coalition Labour win (new seat) | Coalition Labour win (new seat) | Coalition Labour win (new seat) |
* Barnes did not receive the Coalition Coupon and was therefore an unofficial candidate.