Region Overview

As the name suggests, the Glasgow region covers Scotland’s largest city. It also extends somewhat beyond current city boundaries to take in the Rutherglen constituency, which lies in South Lanarkshire Council. Between the 1973 and 1994 Local Government (Scotland) Acts, Rutherglen and Cambuslang were part of the City of Glasgow District Council, so the region effectively maintains that old structure, and has done since creation in 1999.

Glasgow has long been an important economic hub for Scotland, dating to the early days of the British Empire. The opulent Merchant City still stands today as testament to the riches the Glaswegian elite accrued via involvement in the violently racist Slave Trade. Through the Industrial Revolution the city would grow massively, with the Clyde shipyards renowned the world over, and becoming one of the first European cities in the modern era to surpass a million residents.

Economic and social change continued to sweep the city after the war, as both slums and historic boulevards were swept away by motorways and many residents were moved to new suburbs or even out of the city into New Towns. Although suffering from the decimation of its industrial base late in the 20th Century, Glasgow went through something of a renaissance, which though it has not solved endemic poverty has helped transform the city from one reputed for gloom to a vibrant and diverse cultural centre. 

Throughout the democratic era, Labour grew to become the dominant political force in the city. The last Conservative seat in the city, Hillhead, was lost to the Lib Dem’s predecessor party the SDP in a 1982 by-election. Once Labour gained that seat from the SDP in 1987, no other party would win a seat at a Westminster General Election in Glasgow until 2015, and that was the political context the Scottish Parliament was born into.

Unsurprisingly, Labour won all 10 of the city’s constituencies at this first election. The list seats helped ensure the city’s natural political diversity was better represented however. Not only was there a clutch of SNP MSPs plus one from each of the Conservatives and Lib Dems, but the well-known and (then) popular Tommy Sheridan won a seat under the Scottish Socialist Party banner. PR had meant to make representation more diverse, but to elect an MSP from outside the four main parties? That was a surprise.


10 Labour (all Constituency)
4 SNP (all Regional)
1 Conservative (Regional)
1 SSP (Regional)
1 Liberal Democrat (Regional)

Labour kept their grip on the constituencies in 2003, but the Rainbow Parliament showed itself in Glasgow by replacing 2 SNP MSPs with a second SSP MSP, plus a Green.


10 Labour (all Constituency)
2 SNP (all Regional)
2 SSP (all Regional)
1 Conservative (Regional)
1 Liberal Democrat (Regional)
1 Green (Regional)

With the SSP having collapsed extremely dramatically in the 2003 session, 2007 saw the party lose both MSPs and Tommy Sheridan relatively narrowly fail to be re-elected under his new Solidarity banner. Those two seats went instead to the SNP, who also inflicted the first constituency defeat in the city on Labour as then-Depute Leader Nicola Sturgeon won the Glasgow Govan constituency.


9 Labour (all Constituency)
5 SNP (4 Regional, 1 Constituency)
1 Conservative (Regional)
1 Liberal Democrat (Regional)
1 Green (Regional)

As the SNP swept to a majority across Scotland, Glasgow was no different, as Labour lost their lead in the city for the first time in decades, at any election. Their success saw them win five of the now nine constituencies, most notably including a wafer-thin majority of just seven (7!) votes in Glasgow Anniesland. Nonetheless, both parties tied for seats overall after regional MSPs were distributed, whilst the Lib Dem collapse saw them lose their MSP.


7 SNP (5 Constituency, 2 Regional)
7 Labour (4 Constituency, 3 Regional)
1 Conservative (Regional)
1 Green (Regional)

As the SNP vote continued a trend of concentrating in the West Central Belt, at this election they made a clean sweep of all nine constituencies in the city. Labour’s vote dropped so severely they couldn’t make their losses back up on the list, whilst even in their weakest region the Conservatives put in a strong enough show to win two MSPs. Although they didn’t grow enough to win a second seat, the Greens inflicted a further defeat on Labour by pushing the party into third in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency.


9 SNP (all Constituency)
4 Labour (all Regional)
2 Conservative (all Regional)
1 Green (Regional)

(Note: This section is based on the national polling averages as of the 1st of April.)

Given the strength of the SNP vote at the moment, it’s vanishingly unlikely that Labour will regain any of the constituencies. Though they face a decidedly uphill struggle in the pandemic context, the Greens have the best shot at a non-SNP constituency victory, if they can do their best Caroline Lucas impression and claim Glasgow Kelvin from the SNP.

The real battleground is therefore likely to be the list seats. Polling a month out from the election has Labour’s fourth seat on the shoogliest peg, though the Conservative’s second seat is barely a whisker more secure. The Greens will be looking to improve on the last election and could pick up a second MSP on the kind of good day their current figures are suggesting, making them the most likely beneficiaries here.

Don’t write off the SNP picking up a 10th seat overall, though. If this election shows a further concentration of their vote in the western Central Belt, they could pick up a list seat in addition to all of their constituencies.

Region Map

Overall Regional Result 2016

Regional List Vote and MSPs Elected


#1: Labour - Anas Sarwar
#2: Labour - Johann Lamont
#3: Conservative - Adam Tomkins
#4: Green - Patrick Harvie
#5: Labour - James Kelly
#6: Labour - Pauline McNeill
#7: Conservative - Annie Wells

Constituency Vote

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Total MSPs Elected


9 SNP (all Constituency)
4 Labour (all Regional)
2 Conservative (all Regional)
1 Green (Regional)

Regional List Candidates 2021

  1. Roza Salih
  2. Nicola Sturgeon
  3. Clare Haughey
  4. Ivan McKee
  5. Bill Kidd
  6. Alex Kerr
  7. Suzanne McLaughlin
  8. Kaukab Stewart
  9. Katy Loudon
  10. Christina Cannon
  11. Abdul Bostani
  1. Annie Wells
  2. Sandesh Gulhane
  3. Ade Aibinu
  4. Thomas Kerr
  5. Kyle Thornton
  6. Lynne Nailon
  7. Alix Mathieson
  1. Pauline McNeill
  2. Anas Sarwar
  3. Paul Sweeney
  4. Pam Duncan-Glancy
  5. James Kelly
  6. Eva Murray
  7. Craig Carson
  8. Willie Docherty
  1. Patrick Harvie
  2. Kim Long
  3. Nadia Kanyange
  4. Jon Moylneux
  5. Dan Hutchison
  6. Elaine Gallagher
  7. Emma Cockburn
  8. Anthony Carroll
  9. Blair Anderson
  10. Holly Bruce
  11. Ellie Gomersall
  12. Calum Mcintosh
  1. Carole Ford
  2. Andrew Chamberlain
  3. James Speirs
  4. Nicholas Moohan
  5. Sheila Thomson
  6. Mark Simons
  7. Joe McCauley
  8. David McKenzie
  9. Matthew Clark
  1. Michelle Ferns
  2. Ailsa Gray
  3. Shahid Farooq
  4. Lynn McMahon
  1. Jean Anne Mitchell
  2. Ricky Morton
  3. Christian McNeill
  4. Khaleel Mohammed
  5. Niall Fraser
  6. Chris Creighton
  7. Ian Mulholland
  1. Andy MacMillan
  2. Jamie-Lee McMillan
  3. Christina MacMillan
  4. Kirsty MacMillan
  5. Ellen MacMillan
  1. Daryl Gardner
  2. Chris Ho
  3. Amanda Ranaghan
  4. David Hanna
  1. James Dunsmore
  2. Roberty Pressley
  1. Carol Ann Dobson
  2. Mary Steven
  3. Diane Hodge
  4. David Mills
  5. Roderick Nicoll
  6. Stephen Lonsdale
  1. Alistair McConnachie
  1. William Neeson
  2. Joshua Hall
  3. John Laird
  4. David Tortolano
  5. Margaret Paterson
  1. Alan Findlay
  2. Cameron Milne
  1. Ben Meechan
  2. Andrea Kozlowski
  1. Brian Smith
  2. Sinéad Daly
  3. Oisín Duncan
  4. Maddie Jamieson
  1. Leo Kerse
  1. Anthony McGinley
  2. Robin John Dudfield
  3. Robert Malyn
  4. Richard Cameron
  1. Ruth Wilkinson
  2. Suzanne Martin
  3. Esthi Thurston
  4. Anna Nordahl
  • Daniel Donaldson
  • Craig Ross

Glasgow Anniesland

2016 Results

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2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Bill Kidd
Majority: 6153 (21.2%)
Turnout: 50.4%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Bill Kidd
Conservative: Ade Aibinu
Labour: Eva Murray
Liberal Democrat: Mark Simons

Glasgow Cathcart

2016 Results

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2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: James Dornan
Majority: 9390 (30.6%)
Turnout: 50.5%

2021 Candidates

SNP: James Dornan
Conservative: Euan Blockley
Labour: Craig Carson
Liberal Democrat: Joe McCauley

Glasgow Kelvin

2016 Results

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2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Sandra White
Majority: 4048 (14.2%)
Turnout: 45.8%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Kaukab Stewart
Conservative: Grahame Cannell
Labour: Pam Duncan-Glancy
Green: Patrick Harvie
Liberal Democrat: David McKenzie

Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn

2016 Results

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2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Bob Doris
Majority: 4602 (23.7%)
Turnout: 44.3%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Bob Doris
Conservative: Alix Mathieson
Labour: Keiran O'Neill
Liberal Democrat: Andrew Chamberlain

Glasgow Pollok

2016 Results

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2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Humza Yousaf
Majority: 6482 (23.2%)
Turnout: 45.7%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Humza Yousaf
Conservative: Sandesh Gulhane
Labour: Zubir Ahmed
Green: Nadia Kanyange
Liberal Democrat: JAmes Spiers
UKIP: Daryl Gardner
Reclaim Party: Leo Kerse
Scottish Libertarian Party: Alan Findlay
Independent: Joseph Finnie

Glasgow Provan

2016 Results

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2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Ivan McKee
Majority: 4783 (19.9%)
Turnout: 43.1%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Ivan McKee
Conservative: Annie Wells
Labour: Martin McElroy
Green: Kim Long
Liberal Democrat: Nicholas Moohan

Glasgow Shettleston

2016 Results

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2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: John Mason
Majority: 7323 (28.9%)
Turnout: 43.9%

2021 Candidates

SNP: John Mason
Conservative: Thomas Kerr
Labour: Pauline McNeill
Liberal Democrat: Matthew Clark

Glasgow Southside

2016 Results

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2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Nicola Sturgeon
Majority: 9593 (38.5%)
Turnout: 48.2%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Nicola Sturgeon
Conservative: Kyle Thornton
Labour: Anas Sarwar
Liberal Democrat: Carole Ford
Freedom Alliance: Carol Ann Dobson
Liberal Party: Deek Jackson
Independent: Greg Energy Adviser
Independent: Jaydra Fransen

Rutherglen

2016 Results

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2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Clare Haughey
Majority: 3743 (11.4%)
Turnout: 54.5%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Clare Haughey
Conservative: Lynne Nailon
Labour: James Kelly
Liberal Democrat: Sheila Thomson