On 30 June 2011, a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

was held for the

UK House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

constituency of

Inverclyde Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the hist ...

. It was triggered by the death of the incumbent

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MP, David Cairns on 9 May 2011 of

acute pancreatitis Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Causes in order of frequency include: 1) a gallstone impacted in the common bile duct beyond the point where the pancreatic duct joins it; 2) heavy alcohol use; 3) systemic disea ...

.Inverclyde Westminster by-election date set
, ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', 8 June 2011 Cairns had won the constituency in 2010 with a majority of 38.4%, making it a safe Labour seat. The by-election was won by

Iain McKenzie Iain McKenzie (born 4 April 1959) is a Scottish Labour Party politician, who was formerly the Member of Parliament for Inverclyde. He was elected at the June 2011 by-election, and stood unsuccessfully for re-election in the 2015 general election ...

MP, the Labour candidate.

Background

The by-election was caused by the death of the incumbent, David Cairns. Cairns, a Labour Party MP, was first elected to the seat at the 2001 general election. He was suffering from

and had been receiving hospital treatment since March, dying on 9 May at the Royal Free Hospital. Previously working as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Scotland Office, Cairns became

Minister of State for Scotland The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State rank) in the Government of the United Kingdom, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. The post is also kno ...

in 2007 but resigned in 2008 in opposition to then-

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

. Cairns was re-elected at the 2010 general election with 56.0% of the popular vote in his constituency. The Scottish National Party (SNP) came second, and would require a swing of 19.25% to take the seat, and the Liberal Democrats and

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

held third and fourth place respectively with 12-14% of the vote share between them.

Candidates

Nominations closed on 16 June 2011, with five candidates. The Labour Party selected Ian McKenzie a local Councillor since 2003, who has led

Inverclyde Council Inverclyde Council is one of the 32 local authorities of Scotland. Created in 1995, its administrative centre is based in Greenock and its territory covers the area of Inverclyde in the west of Scotland, taking over from the local government distr ...

since February 2011 and the only candidate not to have run for any other constituency in the Scottish Election 2011. The Scottish National Party selected

Anne McLaughlin Anne McLaughlin (born 8 March 1966) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow North East since 2019, and previously from 2015 to 2017. She was previously a Member of the Scottish Parliame ...

, who was an MSP for the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

regional list from 2009–2011. The Conservative Party selected David Wilson, a local councillor and deputy provost of Inverclyde. UKIP candidate Mitch Sorbie contested

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter to ...

in the 2010 general election. The Liberal Democrats selected Sophie Bridger, the president of Liberal Youth Scotland.

Result

References

{{Westminster by-elections in Scotland 1950-present Inverclyde by-election Inverclyde by-election 2010s elections in Scotland Inverclyde by-election By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies Politics of Inverclyde

Background

Candidates

Result

See also

References