# Blantyre (ward)

Blantyre is one of the 20 electoral wards of South Lanarkshire Council. Re-established in 2007, the ward initially elected four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system before a boundary review in 2017 reduced the number of councillors to three. It covers an area with a population of 15,968 people.
The ward is a Labour stronghold with the party holding at least two of the seats since the ward's recreation. From 2014 to 2017, the party held all four seats in the ward.
Between 1974 and 1995, Blantyre was one of the 20 first-past-the-post electoral wards of Hamilton District Council.

## Boundaries

The Blantyre ward was initially created in 1974 by the Formation Electoral Arrangements from the previous Blantyre electoral division of Lanark County Council. The ward centred around the town of Blantyre and took in the northwestern part of Hamilton District up to its border with the City of Glasgow District. The original single-member ward, covering an area with an electorate of 4,648 people in 1974, was much smaller than the current multi-member ward. The boundaries remained largely unchanged following the Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1980. The ward was abolished in 1995 following the Second Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1994. The second review became the Formation Electoral Arrangements for South Lanarkshire Council – an amalgamation of Hamilton District Council, East Kilbride District Council, Clydesdale District Council and part of the City of Glasgow District Council – following the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and the Blantyre ward was replaced by the Blantyre West and Coatshill/Low Blantyre wards.
The ward was re-established following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2007 Scottish local elections. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, local elections in Scotland would use the single transferable vote electoral system from 2007 onwards so Blantyre was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained part of the former Burnbank/Blantyre and High Blantyre wards as well as all of the former Blantyre West and Coatshill/Low Blantyre wards. The Blantyre ward centres on the town of Blantyre, excluding the Hamilton International Technology Park and the modern West Craigs development on the town's southern periphery, in the north of South Lanarkshire between the towns of Cambuslang and Uddingston. The ward is bounded to the north and east by the River Clyde, to the west by the Rotten Calder and to the south by the A725 East Kilbride Expressway. The ward's northern boundary also coincides with the council's border with Glasgow City Council. Following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections, streets around Ballantrae Road were transferred into Hamilton North and East. The review resulted in a reduction in the number of seats from four to three in order to balance with other wards with similar populations.

## Councillors
### Single-member ward

| Election | Councillor |
| 1974 | D. Tremble |
| 1988 | D. Tremble |
| 1992 | J. Handibode |

### Multi-member ward

| Year | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors |
| 2007 | | Bert Thomson (Ind./ SNP/ Labour) | Jim Handibode (Labour) | John McNamee (SNP/ Labour) | Hugh Dunsmuir (Labour) |
| 2010 | | Bert Thomson (Ind./ SNP/ Labour) | Jim Handibode (Labour) | John McNamee (SNP/ Labour) | Hugh Dunsmuir (Labour) |
| 2012 | | Bert Thomson (Ind./ SNP/ Labour) | Jim Handibode (Labour) | John McNamee (SNP/ Labour) | Hugh Dunsmuir (Labour) |
| 2014 | | Bert Thomson (Ind./ SNP/ Labour) | Jim Handibode (Labour) | John McNamee (SNP/ Labour) | Hugh Dunsmuir (Labour) |
| 2015 by-election | Mo Razzaq (Labour) | Bert Thomson (Ind./ SNP/ Labour) | | John McNamee (SNP/ Labour) | Hugh Dunsmuir (Labour) |
| 2017 | Mo Razzaq (Labour) | Bert Thomson (Ind./ SNP/ Labour) | Maureen Chalmers (SNP) |
| 2022 | Mo Razzaq (Labour) | Bert Thomson (Ind./ SNP/ Labour) | Maureen Chalmers (SNP) |

## Election results
### 2022 election

Blantyre - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | SNP | Maureen Chalmers (incumbent) | 31.7 | 1,652 | | | | | |
| | Labour | Mo Razzaq (incumbent) | 29.2 | 1,519 | | | | | |
| | Labour | Bert Thomson (incumbent) | 15.7 | 815 | 826 | 997 | 1,031 | 1,066 | 1,307 |
| | SNP | Gerry Chambers | 10.4 | 542 | 855 | 864 | 872 | 972 | 982 |
| | Conservative | Calum Nimmo | 7.7 | 399 | 399 | 408 | 427 | 439 | |
| | Scottish Green | David McClemont | 3.2 | 169 | 179 | 183 | 205 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Reid | 2.1 | 110 | 111 | 117 | | | |
| Electorate: 12,850 Valid: 5,206 Spoilt: 165 Quota: 1,302 Turnout: 41.8% ||||||||||
Source:

### 2017 election

Blantyre - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| | Labour | Mo Razzaq (incumbent) | 31.0 | 1,663 | | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Maureen Chalmers | 25.3 | 1,354 | | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Michael McGlynn | 14.8 | 797 | 815 | 827 | 838 | 860 | 879 | 902 | |
| | Labour | Bert Thomson (incumbent) | 13.6 | 731 | 980 | 980 | 988 | 1,013 | 1,051 | 1,278 | 1,533 |
| | Conservative | Alan Fraser | 11.1 | 593 | 601 | 601 | 603 | 607 | 635 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Reid | 1.9 | 100 | 109 | 109 | 112 | 125 | | | |
| | Solidarity | Ashley Hubbard | 1.4 | 76 | 80 | 81 | 101 | | | | |
| | Scottish Socialist | Gerry McMahon | 0.9 | 48 | 51 | 52 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 12,711 Valid: 5,362 Spoilt: 180 Quota: 1,341 Turnout: 43.6% ||||||||||||
Source:

### 2015 by-election

Blantyre by-election (10 December 2015) - 1 seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Labour | Mo Razzaq | 47.2 | 1,476 | 1,483 | 1,504 | 1,536 | 1,589 |
| | SNP | Gerry Chambers | 39.6 | 1,236 | 1,246 | 1,259 | 1,314 | 1,327 |
| | Conservative | Taylor Muir | 4.5 | 140 | 156 | 172 | 173 | |
| | Scottish Socialist | Sean Baillie | 3.9 | 122 | 125 | 133 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Reid | 2.9 | 92 | 97 | | | |
| | UKIP | Emma Jay Docherty | 1.9 | 59 | | | | |
| Electorate: 13,745 Valid: 3,125 Spoilt: 45 Quota: 1,563 Turnout: 23.1% |||||||||
Source:

### 2012 election

Blantyre - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| | Labour | Hugh Dunsmuir (incumbent) | 25.0 | 1,144 | | | | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Bert Thomson (incumbent) | 20.3 | 929 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Jim Handibode (incumbent) | 16.6 | 756 | 936 | | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | John McNamee (incumbent) | 12.7 | 579 | 601 | 617 | 617 | 621 | 626 | 639 | 687 | 752 | 844 |
| | SNP | John Mullen | 10.3 | 470 | 472 | 473 | 484 | 486 | 490 | 512 | 542 | 581 | |
| | Independent | Michael Martin | 5.1 | 234 | 238 | 239 | 239 | 241 | 260 | 297 | 348 | | |
| | CPA | Michael McGlynn | 4.6 | 209 | 212 | 213 | 214 | 214 | 217 | 253 | | | |
| | Conservative | Isobel Black | 3.9 | 176 | 179 | 179 | 180 | 188 | 191 | | | | |
| | Independent | Gavin Wallace | 0.9 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 42 | 45 | | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mike Watson | 0.7 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 33 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 13,021 Valid: 4,569 Spoilt: 135 Quota: 914 Turnout: 35.1% ||||||||||||||
Source:

### 2007 election

Blantyre - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Labour | Hugh Dunsmuir | 24.6 | 1,586 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Bert Thomson | 21.2 | 1,365 | | | | | |
| | SNP | John McNamee | 19.4 | 1,253 | 1,339 | | | | |
| | Labour | Jim Handibode | 17.4 | 1,121 | 1,260 | 1,270 | ??? | ??? | ??? |
| | Independent | Michael McGlynn | 11.6 | 748 | 764 | 783 | ??? | ??? | ??? |
| | Conservative | Morag Redpath | 5.1 | 327 | 329 | 332 | ??? | ??? | |
| | Independent | Gavin Wallace | 0.8 | 52 | 53 | 66 | ??? | | |
| Electorate: 13,782 Valid: 6,452 Quota: 1,291 Turnout: 48.0% ||||||||||
Source:

### 1992 election

Blantyre :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Handibode | 995 | 70.3 | 34.2 |
| | SNP | J. Pollock | 409 | 28.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 586 | 41.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,404 | 31.4 | 19.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,511 | | |
| | Labour gain from Independent Labour | Labour gain from Independent Labour | Swing | 17.1 | |
Source:

### 1988 election

Blantyre :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent Labour | M. Tremble | 1,331 | 57.4 | New |
| | Labour | J. Handibode | 837 | 36.1 | 42.1 |
| | Conservative | L. McIntosh | 137 | 5.9 | 2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 494 | 21.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,305 | 50.6 | 7.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,575 | | |
| | Independent Labour gain from Labour | Independent Labour gain from Labour | Swing | 49.7 | |
Source:

### 1984 election

Blantyre :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | D. Tremble | 1,535 | 78.2 |
| | Liberal | D. McWhirter | 253 | 12.9 |
| | Conservative | A. Walker | 168 | 8.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,282 | 65.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,956 | 43.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,544 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Source:

### 1980 election

Blantyre :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | M. D. Tremble | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,718 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Source:

### 1977 election

Blantyre :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | M. D. Tremble | 1,608 | 61.2 | 4.9 |
| | SNP | J. Waugh | 1,019 | 38.8 | 4.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 589 | 22.4 | 9.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,627 | 55.5 | 0.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,784 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 4.9 | |
Source:

### 1974 election

Blantyre :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | D. Tremble | 1,412 | 56.3 |
| | SNP | T. Rarity | 1,094 | 43.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 318 | 12.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,506 | 54.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,648 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
Source: