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UK Parliament - Paisley & Renfrewshire South

RACE DETAILS

Parents

> United Kingdom > Scotland > Scotland > Paisley & Renfrewshire South

Office

Parliament

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

April 20, 2010 - 06:00pm

Polls Open

May 06, 2010 - 01:00am

Polls Close

May 06, 2010 - 04:00pm

Term Start

May 17, 2010 - 12:00pm

Term End

May 17, 2015 - 12:00pm

Contributor

Ralphie

Last Modified

Ralphie May 14, 2010 08:37pm

Data Sources

[Link]

Description

BBC Profile:
In 1983 the Boundary Commission split Paisley in two. Norman Buchan, Labour MP for Renfrewshire West since 1964, took the new Paisley South seat by 6,529 votes.

Two by-elections were held in Paisley on the same day in November 1990, owing to the deaths of Buchan and Paisley North MP Allen Adams. Labour held off the challenge of the SNP in both seats. Gordon McMaster, Labour's successful candidate in Paisley South, died shortly after the 1997 general election. Douglas Alexander won the resulting by-election for Labour, though the majority fell to 2,731. In 2001, Alexander increased his percentage majority on a lower turnout.

Before the 2005 election the seat was enlarged and renamed, taking in two wards from Paisley North and two wards from West Renfrewshire. Douglas Alexander was returned with a majority of 13.232.

There are no boundary changes affecting this seat.

The industrial east of the seat includes the southern half of Paisley and the smaller Clydeside town of Johnstone.

The constituency also covers large tracts of rural Renfrewshire including a number of villages around the many lochs in the area.

Paisley grew up on the linen trade, and textiles is still an important, if declining, industry today. Today, the main sources of employment are in the electronics, communications, food, and oil and micro-technology industries.

The southern division is less prosperous than the north, possibly due to the fact it is further from the motorway and the airport.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
No Boundary Changes