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Dundee East (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dundee East Burgh constituency |
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|---|---|
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| Dundee East shown within Scotland | |
| Created: | 1950 |
| MP: | Stewart Hosie |
| Party: | Scottish National Party |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| Council areas: | Angus/City of Dundee |
| EP constituency: | Scotland |
Dundee East is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster). It was created for the 1950 general election.
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The constituency is one of two covering the City of Dundee council area, the other being Dundee West. Current boundaries were first used in the 2005 General Election.
As well as covering an eastern portion of the city area, the East constituency also includes, to the north and east, part of the Angus council area. Similarly, the West constituency includes, to the north and west, another part of the Angus council area.
Prior to the 2005 election, both constituencies were entirely within the city area, and north-eastern and north-western areas of the city were within the Angus constituency. Scottish Parliament constituencies retain the older boundaries.
| Year | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Thomas Cook | Labour | |
| 1952 | George Thomson | Labour | |
| 1973 | George Machin | Labour | |
| 1974 | Gordon Wilson | SNP | |
| 1987 | John McAllion | Labour | |
| 2001 | Iain Luke | Labour | |
| 2005 | Stewart Hosie | SNP | |
| General Election 2005: Dundee East | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Scottish National | Stewart Hosie | 14,708 | 37.2 | +1.1 | |
| Labour | Iain Luke | 14,325 | 36.2 | −1.2 | |
| Conservative | Chris Bustin | 5,061 | 12.8 | −2.5 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Clive Sneddon | 4,498 | 11.4 | +2.7 | |
| Scottish Socialist | Harvey Duke | 537 | 1.4 | −1.2 | |
| UK Independence | Donald Low | 292 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Independent (politician) | David Allison | 119 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 383 | 1.0 | |||
| Turnout | 39,540 | 62.4 | +3.3 | ||
| Scottish National gain from Labour | Swing | +1.1 | |||
| General Election 2001: Dundee East | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Iain Luke | 14,635 | 45.2 | −5.9 | |
| Scottish National | Stewart Hosie | 10,169 | 31.4 | +4.9 | |
| Conservative | Alan Donnelly | 3,900 | 12.0 | −3.7 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Raymond Lawrie | 2,784 | 8.6 | +4.5 | |
| Scottish Socialist | Harvey Duke | 879 | 2.7 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,466 | 13.8 | |||
| Turnout | 32,367 | 57.3 | −12.0 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
The Dundee East constituency has been a marginal seat between the SNP and Labour since the 1973 byelection. Although Labour won the seat in that by-election, the SNP established itself as the clear challenger and continued to advance, winning the seat in the next general election. Labour were thought to have underperformed in not winning the seat back in the 1979 general election, and the choice of the former Communist Jimmy Reid as Labour candidate was blamed for the loss.
Boundary changes which came into force in 2005 brought in many voters from more suburban areas formerly in the Angus constituency. Although estimates of the 2001 general election result on the new boundaries showed Labour ahead, the lead was exceptionally narrow, and after the SNP won the Scottish Parliament seat on the original boundaries in 2003, a close fight was expected (and occurred) in the 2005 general election.