2014 Cowdenbeath by-election

The Cowdenbeath by-election, 2014 was a by-election held for the Scottish Parliament constituency of Cowdenbeath on 23 January 2014, following the death of the constituency's MSP, Helen Eadie, after having been diagnosed with cancer the previous year.[1]

SNP candidate Natalie McGarry (left) introduces herself to a constituent whilst campaigning

Helen Eadie had represented the people of Cowdenbeath since the first election to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, making her one of the few MSPs to have served in the Scottish Parliament continuously since its inception. Prior to the 2011 election the seat was known as Dunfermline East. In the 2011 election Eadie held the seat with a majority of 1,247 votes.

In the by-election, the seat was held by Labour candidate Alex Rowley, increasing Labour's vote share to 56%. There was an 11.25% swing from SNP to Labour. After the election, The SNP dismissed this with their candidate Natalie McGarry stating:

"I heard on the doorsteps from a lot of traditional Labour voters who said: 'Listen, Natalie, I'm not going to vote for you, but I am actually thinking about voting yes in the referendum'.

"So Alex Rowley may be the victor tonight, but I believe the whole of Scotland will celebrate a Yes victory in September."[2]

Result

Cowdenbeath by-election, 2014[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alex Rowley 11,192 55.78 +9.28
SNP Natalie McGarry 5,704 28.43 -13.17
Conservative Dave Dempsey 1,893 9.44 +2.44
UKIP Denise Baykal 610 3.04 N/A
Liberal Democrats Jade Holden 425 2.12 -1.78
The Victims Final Right Stuart Graham 187 0.93 N/A
SDA James Trolland 51 0.25 N/A
Majority 5,488 27.35 +22.45
Turnout 20,062 38.41 -8.49
Labour hold Swing

Scottish Parliament Election result, 2011

Scottish Parliament election, 2011: Cowdenbeath
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Helen Eadie 11,926 46.5 +3.4
SNP Ian Chisholm 10,679 41.6 +13.1
Conservative Belinda Don 1,792 7.0 -7.2
Liberal Democrats Keith Legg 997 3.9 -10.3
Land Party Mick Heenan 276 1.1 n/a
Majority 1,247 4.9
Turnout 25,670 46.9
Labour hold Swing -4.8%

See also

References

  1. "Labour MSP Helen Eadie dies, aged 66". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  2. "Cowdenbeath by-election: Alex Rowley holds seat for Labour". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  3. "Cowdenbeath by-election: Alex Rowley holds seat for Labour", BBC News, 24 January 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2018.


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