Glasgow East

Prior to the 2005 general election, the city area was covered by ten constituencies, of which two straddled boundaries with other council areas. The Glasgow East constituency includes the area of the former Glasgow Baillieston constituency and parts of the former Glasgow Shettleston constituency.^[2] Scottish Parliament constituencies retain the names and boundaries of the older Westminster constituencies.

It was once one of the safest seats for the Labour Party, the areas included in the constituency having returned solely Labour MPs since the 1930s. Glasgow Baillieston had always been represented by MPs from the Labour Party, as was the predecessor Glasgow Provan constituency from its creation in 1955. Glasgow Shettleston was won by the Labour Party at every general election from 1950 onwards (in 1945 it was won by the Independent Labour Party).

However, it achieved national prominence when a by-election in 2008 saw the Scottish National Party overturn a majority of over 13,000 votes to gain the seat (see below). Since then, it has been tightly fought by Labour and the SNP.

At the 2010 general election, the seat was regained for Labour by Margaret Curran from John Mason of the SNP with a large majority of more than 11,000 votes.

During the 2015 general election there was a nationwide surge of support for the SNP, as pro-independence voters rallied to support the party in unprecedented numbers. After votes were counted The Guardian reported: "The SNP swept aside once-unassailable majorities for Labour with swings as high as 35%, as voters threw out Jim Murphy, the Scottish Labour leader, its former deputy leader, Anas Sarwar, and Margaret Curran, the shadow Scottish secretary [in Glasgow East]."^[3]

At the 2016 EU referendum, the House of Commons Library estimates that 53% of local voters opted for Britain to Remain a member of the EU, while 47% voted to leave.^[4]

The 2017 general election result in the constituency was that election's tenth-closest result, with David Linden of the SNP holding the seat by a margin of 75 votes. Amid a nationwide backlash against Nicola Sturgeon's plans for a second independence referendum,^[5] the SNP's share of the vote dropped by 18%, the Conservative vote nearly trebled and Labour picked up votes from left-wing voters excited by Jeremy Corbyn and the British Labour Party's socialist platform.^[6]

In 2019, Linden was re-elected with an increased majority of 5,566 votes, making the seat a comfortable SNP majority.^[7] However, at the 2024 general election, the SNP's vote slumped once again and Linden was defeated by Labour's John Grady with a majority of 3,784 on a notional swing of 13%.

Glasgow East is one of six constituencies covering the Glasgow City Council area taking in the areas of: Baillieston, Carmyle, Parkhead, Shettleston and Tollcross. It formerly included Easterhouse and Gartloch. Further to the 2023 boundary review, it also includes the areas of: Calton, Bridgeton, Dalmarnock, Gorbals, Govanhill and Hutchesontown.

The constituency is one of the most deprived constituencies in the UK. In 2008, nearly 40% of adults smoke (UK average at the time was 19.2%), and on average there were 25 drug-related deaths a year.^[15] Average male life expectancy is 68, five years less than the Scottish average, while in the Shettleston area it is 63.^[16] A 2008 World Health Organization report gave the average male life expectancy in Calton as 54, which is lower than it was before the Second World War.^[17]

• Politics of Glasgow