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East Renfrewshire (known as Eastwood from 1983 until 2005) is a
constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
of the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, to the south of
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 ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. It elects one
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) using the
first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system of voting. Before 1997, the constituency was the safest
Conservative 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 ...
seat in Scotland. In the 1997 Labour landslide, it was won by
Jim Murphy James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Re ...
who held the seat until
Kirsten Oswald Kirsten Frances Oswald (born 21 December 1972) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as the SNP Deputy Westminster Leader from 2020 to 2022. First elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Renfrewshire in 2015, she was ...
of the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
was elected in the 2015 SNP landslide. In 2017, the constituency returned to Conservative control for the first time in 20 years, when it was gained by Conservative candidate
Paul Masterton Paul Masterton (born 2 November 1985) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Renfrewshire from 2017 to 2019. Early life Masterton was born on 2 November 1985 in Edinburgh. He attended Buckst ...
. However, in the 2019 election Oswald was re-elected, gaining the seat for the SNP once again. The constituency has a mostly middle-class electorate and includes affluent areas.


History

The constituency was created by the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equa ...
for the 1885 general election. It was abolished for the 1983 general election, when it was partially replaced by the new Eastwood constituency. The East Renfrewshire constituency was re-established for the 2005 general election, with the same boundaries as the previous Eastwood constituency. Despite the change of name, it is the only constituency in mainland
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
whose boundaries were unchanged by the 2005 revision of Scottish constituencies.


Boundaries and local government areas

As created in 1885, the constituency was one of four covering the area of the county of Renfrewshire (except the burgh of Renfrew and the burgh of Port Glasgow, which were components of Kilmarnock Burghs until 1918). The four constituencies were: East Renfrewshire, West Renfrewshire, Paisley and
Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands o ...
. Greenock was enlarged and renamed Greenock and Port Glasgow in 1974. From 1885, the constituency consisted of the parishes of Eastwood, Cathcart, Mearns and Eaglesham, and part of the parish of Govan. From
1918 This year is noted for the end of the World War I, First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Belo ...
, the constituency consisted of "The Upper County District, inclusive of all burghs situated therein, except the burghs of Paisley and Johnstone, together with so much of the burgh of Renfrew as is contained within the parish of Govan in the county of Lanark." The constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election, eight years after the creation of
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...
regions and districts in 1975. The new constituency, with revised boundaries, was called Eastwood. In 1996, the area of the Eastwood constituency became, also, the East Renfrewshire unitary council area. In 1999, a Scottish Parliament constituency was created with the name and boundaries of the Eastwood Westminster constituency. In the widespread redistribution of Scottish seats for the 2005 general election, the name of the Eastwood Westminster constituency was changed back to ''East Renfrewshire''.


Constituency profile and voting patterns

An outer suburban part of the Glasgow conurbation and the rural hinterland to the south-west of the city, East Renfrewshire is predominantly an affluent, middle-class commuter area with a high proportion of owner-occupiers and professionals. East Renfrewshire has the largest
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
population of any constituency in Scotland, with almost half of Scotland's Jewish population living in that area. At the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, East Renfrewshire returned a significant majority against Scottish independence; with a voter turnout of 90.4%, 41,690 votes were cast for "No" (63.2%) and 24,287 for "Yes" (36.8%). At the 2016 European Union membership referendum, a substantial majority of votes were cast in favour of the United Kingdom remaining in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
in East Renfrewshire, with a turnout of 76.1% there were 39,345 "Remain" votes (74.3%) to 13,596 "Leave" votes (25.7%). The area was looked on as a safely
Conservative 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 ...
seat before
Jim Murphy James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Re ...
of the Labour Party gained the seat (then known as Eastwood) during their landslide victory in 1997. East Renfrewshire was then subsequently viewed as a relatively safe Labour seat until the SNP gained the seat in their 2015 landslide victory. In 2017, during what would prove to be their best performance at a general election in Scotland for 34 years, the Conservatives subsequently gained the East Renfrewshire seat at the 2017 snap general election; with
Paul Masterton Paul Masterton (born 2 November 1985) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Renfrewshire from 2017 to 2019. Early life Masterton was born on 2 November 1985 in Edinburgh. He attended Buckst ...
being elected with a majority of 4,712 (8.8%) votes over
Kirsten Oswald Kirsten Frances Oswald (born 21 December 1972) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as the SNP Deputy Westminster Leader from 2020 to 2022. First elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Renfrewshire in 2015, she was ...
of the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
. However, at the 2019 general election; Oswald regained the seat for the SNP with a majority of 5,426 or 9.8%, establishing the seat as an SNP-Conservative marginal battleground.


Members of Parliament


Election results


Elections in the 2010s


Elections in the 2000s


Elections in the 1970s


Elections in the 1960s


Elections in the 1950s


Elections in the 1940s


Elections in the 1930s


Elections in the 1920s

Alexander Munro MacRobert was appointed
Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...
on 31 December 1925.Oliver & Boyd's Edonburgh Almanack, 1927


Elections in the 1910s


Elections in the 1900s


Elections in the 1890s


Elections in the 1880s


See also

* 1926 East Renfrewshire by-election * 1930 East Renfrewshire by-election * 1940 East Renfrewshire by-election * Eastwood (UK Parliament constituency) (1983–2005)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:East Renfrewshire (Uk Parliament Constituency) Westminster Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1983 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2005 Politics of Renfrewshire Giffnock Clarkston, East Renfrewshire Politics of East Renfrewshire Newton Mearns Eaglesham