Prior to the
2005 general election, the city area was covered by ten constituencies, of which two straddled boundaries with other council areas. The Glasgow East constituency includes the area of the former
Glasgow Baillieston constituency and parts of the former
Glasgow Shettleston constituency.
Scottish Parliament constituencies retain the names and boundaries of the older Westminster constituencies. It was once one of the
safest seats for the
Labour Party, the areas included in the constituency having returned solely Labour MPs since the 1930s. Glasgow Baillieston had always been represented by MPs from the
Labour Party, as was the predecessor
Glasgow Provan constituency from its creation in
1955. Glasgow Shettleston was won by the Labour Party at every general election from
1950 onwards (in
1945 it was won by the
Independent Labour Party). However, it achieved national prominence when a
by-election in 2008 saw the
Scottish National Party overturn a majority of over 13,000 votes to gain the seat (see below). Since then, it has been tightly fought by Labour and the SNP. At the
2010 general election, the seat was regained for Labour by
Margaret Curran from
John Mason of the SNP with a large majority of more than 11,000 votes. During the
2015 general election there was a nationwide surge of support for the SNP, as pro-independence voters rallied to support the party in unprecedented numbers. After votes were counted
The Guardian reported: "The SNP swept aside once-unassailable majorities for Labour with swings as high as 35%, as voters threw out
Jim Murphy, the Scottish Labour leader, its former deputy leader,
Anas Sarwar, and
Margaret Curran, the shadow Scottish secretary [in Glasgow East]." At the
2016 EU referendum, the
House of Commons Library estimates that 53% of local voters opted for Britain to Remain a member of the EU, while 47% voted to leave. The
2017 general election result in the constituency was that election's tenth-closest result, with
David Linden of the SNP holding the seat by a margin of 75 votes. Amid a nationwide backlash against
Nicola Sturgeon's plans for a second independence referendum, the SNP's share of the vote dropped by 18%, the Conservative vote nearly trebled and Labour picked up votes from left-wing voters excited by
Jeremy Corbyn and the British Labour Party's socialist platform. In 2019, Linden was re-elected with an increased majority of 5,566 votes, making the seat a comfortable SNP majority. However, at the
2024 general election, the SNP's vote slumped once again and Linden was defeated by Labour's
John Grady with a majority of 3,784 on a notional swing of 13%.
2008 by-election On 28 June 2008, the sitting MP David Marshall announced he would step down because of a stress-related illness; he was appointed
Steward of the Manor of Northstead on 30 June 2008, thus effectively
resigning from the House of Commons. Although the seat represented Labour's third-largest majority in Scotland, it faced a strong challenge from the Scottish National Party, hot on the heels of Labour's disastrous performance at the
2008 Henley by-election. Nominations for candidates closed at 4pm on 9 July, and the election took place on 24 July. On 25 July 2008, and after a recount, the SNP candidate
John Mason won the seat with a narrow majority of 365 votes over the Labour Party candidate,
Margaret Curran. ==Boundaries==