Labour lose Clydesdale as SNP triumph

May 6 2011

LABOUR'S Karen Gillon was another casualty of the surge in SNP support across Lanarkshire.

She had been Clydesdale constituency MSP since 1999, but put down her defeat to boundary changes and no Liberal Democrat candidate standing in the seat.

Mrs Gillon received 10,715 votes compared to 14,951 for the SNP's Aileen Campbell who first entered the Scottish Parliament in 2007 as a list MSP for the South of Scotland region.

Ms Campbell, who received almost 50 per cent of the vote in the constituency, said she was delighted and proud to have become MSP for Clydesdale. The SNP, she added, had fought a very positive campaign, adding: "Tonight is a vote of trust in Scotland."

Mrs Gillon said it had been a pleasure to have been MSP for Clydesdale for the last 12 years and thanked those who had voted for her. She also wished her successor well and paid tribute to the people of Clydesdale, who she described as "some of the best people in the world".

Following recent boundary changes, the Clydesdale constituency lost Larkhall to a new Hamilton seat and gained Strathaven from East Kilbride.

Mrs Gillon said: "It was always going to be difficult for me in Clydesdale due to new boundaries and the absence of a Lib Dem candidate. The Lib Dem vote has gone en masse to the SNP. The scale of the SNP victory is quite significant.

"It has been a tremendous honour to have been MSP for Clydesdale for 12 years. I wish Aileen well. However, the job of a constituency MSP is different to that of a list MSP."

Mrs Gillon, who has three children, said she was looking forward to being a mum "for a while". Her future would also involve "some form of public service", she said, adding: "I will keep up my connections with Malawi which I established while at the Scottish Parliament."

Aileen Campbell said: "I'm ecstatic. I'm so proud to be Clydesdale's constituency MSP. I promise to repay the trust people have placed in me.

"We knew it was going to be close because of the boundary changes and because there was no Lib Dem candidate. However, I'm absolutely delighted the people of Clydesdale have chosen a party with a positive vision for Scotland."

Conservative candidate Colin McGavigan, who polled 4291 votes, paid tribute to Mrs Gillon. He said she had been "an excellent constituency MSP" over the last 12 years.