The 1988 Glasgow Govan by-election, for the UK House of Commons constituency of Glasgow Govan, Scotland, was held on 10 November 1988. It was caused by the resignation of Bruce Millan as Member of Parliament for the constituency following his appointment as a European commissioner.

The result of the election provided the first major upset of the by-elections in the 1987-92 Parliament and was seen as embarrassing for the Labour Party, with the former Labour MP Jim Sillars winning the seat for the Scottish National Party with a majority of 3,554 votes and a large swing from Labour to the SNP. However, it would soon be the Tories who were suffering losses in by-elections, although the 1987-1992 Parliament would ultimately end with a fourth consecutive Conservative victory.

At the previous general election Millan, a former Scottish Secretary, had easily held the seat for the Labour Party, increasing his vote share from 55% in 1983 to 64.9%. In contrast, his main rivals, the SDP and the Conservatives, had both seen their shares of the vote drop by over 7%. Meanwhile, the SNP had managed to increase their share of the vote by over 4%. While Millan had been the clear winner, less than 1,000 votes separated the SDP in second and the SNP in fourth place, a significant change from 1983 when the SNP had been over 5,000 votes behind the SDP.

Result

See also

  • 1889 Govan by-election
  • 1973 Glasgow Govan by-election
  • Govan
  • Elections in Scotland
  • Lists of United Kingdom by-elections

References

Bibliography

  • Gerry Hassan, "Glasgow Govan 1988", pp. 509-516, in British By-Elections: 1769-2025: The 88 By-Election Campaigns that shaped our Politics, edited by Iain Dale, Biteback Publishing: London, 2025.