Linlithgow
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Linlithgow in Scotland for the 2001 general election
1983–2005
SeatsOne
Created fromWest Lothian
Replaced byLinlithgow & East Falkirk
Livingston

Linlithgow was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of elections.

The constituency returned the same MP throughout its existence, Tam Dalyell of the Labour Party. Dalyell had previously been MP for the predecessor seat of West Lothian, which had led to his concerns about Scottish devolution being labelled "the West Lothian question".

History

The constituency was created for the 1983 general election, largely replacing the previous West Lothian constituency. For the 2005 general election, Linlithgow was largely replaced by the new Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency, with the remainder of the constituency joining Livingston.

The Scottish Parliament constituency of Linlithgow was created in 1999 with the same boundaries as the UK Parliament constituency.

Boundaries

1983–1997: The West Lothian District electoral divisions of Bathgate East/Blackburn, Bathgate West/Armadale, Linlithgow, and Whitburn, and the City of Edinburgh District ward of Queensferry.

1997–2005: The West Lothian District electoral divisions of Bathgate East/Blackburn, Bathgate West/Armadale, Linlithgow/Winchburgh, and Whitburn.

Members of Parliament

Election Member[1] Party
1983 Tam Dalyell Labour

Election results

Elections of the 1980s

General election 1983: Linlithgow[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tam Dalyell 19,694 45.1 -7.4
Conservative Colin Jones 8,333 19.1 -3.1
SNP David Ramsey 8,026 18.4 -6.3
SDP Paul Cockcroft 7,432 17.0
Communist Morag C. Parnell 199 0.4
Majority 11,361 26.0
Turnout 43,684 75.2
Labour win (new seat)
General election 1987: Linlithgow[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tam Dalyell 21,869 47.4 +2.3
SNP Jim Sillars 11,496 24.9 +6.5
Conservative Thomas Armstrong-Wilson 6,828 14.8 −4.3
SDP Helen McDade 5,840 12.6 −4.4
Communist John Glassford 154 0.3 −0.1
Majority 10,373 22.5 -3.5
Turnout 46,187 77.6 +2.4
Labour hold Swing

Elections of the 1990s

General election 1992: Linlithgow[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tam Dalyell 21,603 45.0 −2.4
SNP Kenny MacAskill 14,577 30.3 +5.4
Conservative Elizabeth A. Forbes 8,424 17.5 +2.7
Liberal Democrats Mike G. Falchikov 3,446 7.2 −5.4
Majority 7,026 14.7 -7.8
Turnout 48,050 78.7 +1.1
Labour hold Swing −0.8
General election 1997: Linlithgow[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tam Dalyell 21,469 54.1 +4.9
SNP Kenny MacAskill 10,631 26.8 −3.3
Conservative Tom Kerr 4,964 12.5 -1.2
Liberal Democrats Andrew W. Duncan 3,796 8.4 −1.1
Referendum Kenneth R. Plomer 259 0.7 New
Majority 10,838 27.3 +12.6
Turnout 39,654 73.8 −4.9
Labour hold Swing +4.1

Elections of the 2000s

General election 2001: Linlithgow[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tam Dalyell 17,207 54.4 +0.3
SNP James Sibbald 8,078 25.5 −1.3
Conservative Gordon Lindhurst 2,836 9.0 −3.5
Liberal Democrats William Oliver 2,628 8.3 -0.1
Scottish Socialist Eddie Cornoch 695 2.2 New
Rock 'n' Roll Loony Helen "Lady Muck" Cronin 211 0.7 New
Majority 9,129 28.9 +1.6
Turnout 31,655 58.0 −15.8
Labour hold Swing −0.8

References

  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)
  2. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded byOld Bexley and Sidcup Constituency represented by the father of the House 2001-2005 Succeeded bySwansea West
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