1988 Hamilton District Council election

Elections to Hamilton District Council were held on 5 May 1988, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the fifth election to the district council following the local government reforms in the 1970s.

1988 Hamilton District Council election
← 1984 5 May 1988 (1988-05-05) 1992 →

All 20 seats to Hamilton District Council
11 seats needed for a majority
Registered80,029
Turnout48.8%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Lab
SSLD
SNP
Party Labour SSLD SNP
Last election 17 seats, 64.9% 2 seats, 16.4%[Note 1] 0 seats, 8.0%
Seats won 15 2 1
Seat change Decrease 2 Steady Increase 1
Popular vote 21,235 3,031 7,700
Percentage 54.7% 7.8% 19.9%
Swing Decrease 10.2 Decrease 8.6 Increase 11.9

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Con
ILab
Party Conservative Independent Labour
Last election 1 seats, 10.7% N/A
Seats won 1 1
Seat change Steady Increase 1
Popular vote 3,861 2,592
Percentage 10.0% 6.6%
Swing Decrease 0.7 New

Council Leader before election


Labour

Council Leader after election


Labour

The election used the 20 wards created by the Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1980. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.[1]

Despite losing two seats and their vote share falling by 10.2%, Labour maintained control of the district council as they won 15 of the 20 seats – taking 54.7% of the popular vote. In March 1988, the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party merged and the newly formed Scottish Social and Liberal Democrats (SSLD) matched the result of the SDP–Liberal Alliance at the previous election as they returned two councillors. The remaining seats were won by the Scottish National Party (SNP) – who gained one seat and had come second in the popular vote – and the Conservatives.

Results

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1988 Hamilton District Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 15 1 3   2 75.0 54.7 21,235   10.2
  SSLD 2 1 1   10.0 7.8 3,031   8.6[Note 1]
  SNP 1 1 0   1 10.0 19.9 7,700   11.9
  Conservative 1 0 0   10.0 10.0 3,861   0.7
  Independent Labour 1 1 0   1 10.0 6.6 2,592 New
  Tenants' Association 0 0 0   0.0 1.1 448 New
Total 20 38,867

Source:[2][3]

Ward results

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Hillhouse

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Hillhouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour R. Newberry 1,200 78.5   4.2
SNP J. Randalls 276 18.1   11.8
Conservative H. MacKie 50 3.3   0.3
Majority 924 60.4   14.4
Turnout 1,526 43.4   1.5
Registered electors 3,525
Labour hold Swing   4.2

Source:[2][3]

Udston

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Udston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour R. Scott 1,499 74.2   3.2
SNP J. Pollock 512 25.4   12.5
Majority 987 48.8   15.7
Turnout 2,011 49.4   3.7
Registered electors 4,084
Labour hold Swing   3.2

Source:[2][3]

Wellhall North

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Wellhall North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SSLD I. Blackstock 720 36.3   28.4
Labour S. Dallas 418 21.1   22.0
Independent Labour B. McKinnon 372 18.7 New
SNP W. Stevenson 277 14.0   7.3
Conservative D. Thomas 195 9.8   3.0
Majority 302 15.2 N/A
Turnout 1,982 44.5   3.5
Registered electors 4,464
SSLD gain from Labour Swing   25.2

Source:[2][3]

Central

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Central
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour T. Murphy 981 51.7   0.6
Conservative W. Irving 527 27.8   1.5
SSLD J. Clarke 378 19.9   7.0
Majority 454 23.9   2.1
Turnout 1,886 43.6   3.8
Registered electors 4,353
Labour hold Swing   0.6

Source:[2][3]

Burnbank

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Burnbank
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour I. McKillop 1,140 57.7   29.2
Tenants' Association E. Kerr 448 22.7 New
SNP G. Gebbie 302 15.3 New
Conservative R. Wilkie 83 4.2   8.3
Majority 692 35.0   39.4
Turnout 1,973 47.3   7.8
Registered electors 4,176
Labour hold Swing   29.2

Source:[2][3]

Ferniegair

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Ferniegair
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative M. Mitchell 759 41.1   1.4
Labour I. Donnelly 632 34.2   0.4
SNP E. Hamilton 449 24.3   17.9
Majority 127 6.9   1.0
Turnout 1,840 47.4   0.5
Registered electors 3,896
Conservative hold Swing   0.5

Source:[2][3]

Fairhill

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Fairhill
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour N. Cochrane 1,176 62.8   21.1
SNP Y. Dear 595 31.8 New
Conservative M. Murray 98 5.2   10.4
Majority 581 31.0   37.3
Turnout 1,863 48.5   4.2
Registered electors 3,863
Labour hold Swing   21.1

Source:[2][3]

Woodhead

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Woodhead
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Lowe 1,457 73.3   10.1
SNP S. Buchanan 523 26.3   16.3
Majority 934 47.0   26.4
Turnout 1,526 45.0   0.2
Registered electors 4,424
Labour hold Swing   10.1

Source:[2][3]

Low Waters

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Low Waters
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour P. Grenfell 836 41.6   3.5
Conservative A. Kegg 592 29.5   1.8
SNP N. Dear 576 28.7   20.2
Majority 244 12.1   5.3
Turnout 2,004 49.6   0.1
Registered electors 4,051
Labour hold Swing   2.6

Source:[2][3]

Cadzow

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Cadzow
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP J. Smith 915 47.8   30.9
Labour G. Smith 878 45.8   36.8
Conservative A. Aitchison 122 6.4 New
Majority 37 2.0 N/A
Turnout 1,915 51.4   4.8
Registered electors 3,728
SNP gain from Labour Swing   33.8

Source:[2][3]

Dalserf

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Dalserf
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour M. Ahmed 913 52.1   16.2
Independent Labour J. Millward 365 20.8 New
SNP R. Wilson 252 14.4   1.7
Conservative A. Aitchison 221 12.6 New
Majority 548 31.3   20.9
Turnout 1,751 52.7   16.4
Registered electors 3,321
Labour hold Swing   16.2

Source:[2][3]

Larkhall East

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Larkhall East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour R. Ferguson 973 58.3   9.2
SNP M. Miller 686 41.1   9.2
Majority 287 17.2   18.3
Turnout 1,659 46.6   5.9
Registered electors 3,582
Labour hold Swing   9.2

Source:[2][3]

Larkhall North

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Larkhall North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour T. McCabe 1,163 66.2   11.5
SNP R. Forbes 576 32.8   11.4
Majority 587 33.4   22.9
Turnout 1,739 46.2   8.0
Registered electors 3,800
Labour hold Swing   11.4

Source:[2][3]

Larkhall South

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Larkhall South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour S. Casserly 1,204 72.6   9.5
SNP M. Miller 453 27.3   9.7
Majority 751 45.3   19.2
Turnout 1,657 50.7   4.7
Registered electors 3,275
Labour hold Swing   9.6

Source:[2][3]

Stonehouse

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Stonehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour R. Gibb 1,305 66.0   5.8
Conservative A. Haston 407 20.6 New
SNP R. Clark 265 13.4   7.5
Majority 898 45.4   19.0
Turnout 1,977 50.0   5.3
Registered electors 3,953
Labour hold Swing   5.8

Source:[2][3]

Uddingston

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Uddingston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SSLD T. Maxwell 1,060 49.5   7.1
Labour C. Begley 801 37.4   8.9
Conservative G. Prince 277 12.9   1.7
Majority 259 12.1   16.0
Turnout 2,138 53.9   1.7
Registered electors 3,974
SSLD hold Swing   7.1

Source:[2][3]

Bothwell

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Bothwell
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour M. Rooney 1,060 41.2   3.8
SSLD M. Radcliffe 873 34.0   20.1
Conservative E. Bath 393 15.3   7.0
SNP C. Sutherland 242 9.4 New
Majority 187 7.2 N/A
Turnout 2,568 55.1   0.8
Registered electors 4,664
Labour gain from Liberal Swing   11.9

Source:[2][3]

High Blantyre

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High Blantyre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Swinburne 1,199 58.0   34.0
Independent Labour M. Martin 524 25.4 New
SNP I. Campbell 339 16.4 New
Majority 675 32.6   51.7
Turnout 2,062 53.5   11.1
Registered electors 3,867
Labour hold Swing   34.0

Source:[2][3]

Blantyre

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Blantyre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Labour M. Tremble 1,331 57.4 New
Labour J. Handibode 837 36.1   42.1
Conservative L. McIntosh 137 5.9   2.7
Majority 494 21.3 N/A
Turnout 2,305 50.6   7.4
Registered electors 4,575
Independent Labour gain from Labour Swing   49.7

Source:[2][3]

Stonefield

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Stonefield
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour H. Dunsmuir 1,563 77.0
SNP T. Muir 462 22.7
Majority 1,101 54.3
Turnout 2,025 45.6
Registered electors 4,454
Labour hold

Source:[2][3]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b At the 1984 election, the SDP–Liberal Alliance won 16.4% of the vote with candidates from both the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Liberal Party. These parties subsequently merged in March 1988 to form the Scottish Social and Liberal Democrats (SSLD).

References

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  1. ^ "Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1989). The Scottish District Elections 1988: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. ISBN 1-869820-02-9. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1984). The Scottish District Elections 1984: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 29 December 2023.