Politics of the City of Glasgow

Glasgow has a long history of supporting socialist ideas and politics. The city council has been controlled by the Labour Party for 30 years. Its socialist roots emanate from the city’s days as an industrial powerhouse, and continue through the previously mentioned levels of relative poverty amongst some Glaswegians. In the aftermath of World War I the city’s strikes and revolutionary fervour caused serious alarm at Westminster, with one uprising in January 1919 causing the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George to deploy 10,000 troops and tanks onto the city’s streets. A huge demonstration in the city’s George Square on January 31st ended in violence after the Riot Act was read.

Later, industrial action at the shipyards gave rise to the “Red Clydeside” tag. During the 1930s, Glasgow was the main base of the Independent Labour Party. Towards the end of the 20th century it became a centre of the struggle against the poll tax, and then the main base of the Scottish Socialist Party, a left wing party in Scotland.

Scottish Parliament electoral region and constituencies

The Glasgow electoral region of the Scottish Parliament covers the City of Glasgow and the Rutherglen area of South Lanarkshire. It elects ten of the parliament’s 73 first past the post constituency members and seven of the 56 additional members. Both kinds of member are known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The system of election is designed to produce a form of proportional representation.

Until the United Kingdom general election, 2005, the first past the post seats were the same for the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) as for the United Kingdom Parliament (Westminster). In 2005 the number of Westminster Members of Parliament (MPs) was cut to 59, with new constituencies being formed, while the existing number of MSPs was retained at Holyrood.