BBC NEWS | VOTE 2003


CANDIDATE	PARTY	VOTES	%	+/-%
Janis Hughes	LAB	10794	45.8	-0.5
Robert Brown	LD	4491	19.1	-0.9
Anne McLaughlin	SNP	3517	14.9	-6.3
Gavin Brown	CON	2499	10.6	+2.6
Bill Bonnar	SSP	2259	9.6	+6.7

	MAJORITY	6303	26.8
	TURNOUT	23560	47.6


ELECTORATE	49512

DESCRIPTION: Glasgow Rutherglen

Rutherglen was once a distinctive town but the seat is now mostly made up of vast council estates south-east of the city centre. The name Rutherglen is said to come from Gaelic for reddish glen after the red clay found here. At its northern border it blends into Glasgow's suburbs and the vast Castlemilk housing scheme. Rutherglen has always striven to maintain some autonomy since it was absorbed by Glasgow in the 1970s. It is the oldest burgh in Scotland - 500 years older than Glasgow, and proud enough of its history to have its own museum. The seat includes not only Rutherglen itself but also the town of Cambuslang, and the housing scheme at Fernhill. Steel and pottery have been major industries in the past, but both have been in decline over the last 30 years.

Although strictly speaking no longer part of Glasgow, it has fitted the pattern as a safe Labour seat. There were no surprises in the 1999 elections, which saw Janis Hughes win the seat with a majority of 25% of the vote. The SNP increased its vote in 1999, establishing a firm second place.

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