Glasgow East by-election, 2008
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The 2008 Glasgow East by-election was a by-election for the UK Parliamentary constituency of Glasgow East which was held on 24 July 2008. The election was triggered when, on 30 June 2008, the sitting MP David Marshall stood down due to ill health.
The by-election was won by John Mason, candidate of the Scottish National Party, who defeated the Labour candidate Margaret Curran. Curran would subsequently regain the seat for Labour in the 2010 general election.
The election was significant as it was the second safe Labour seat to be contested, and to be lost, since a downturn in political fortunes for the Labour Party and incumbent UK Labour government under the premiership of Gordon Brown, and was also held in the wake of the resignation of the leader of the Labour group in the Scottish Parliament, Wendy Alexander. The seat was the 3rd safest Labour seat in Scotland, and their 26th safest seat in the UK.
The Glasgow East constituency was created for the 2005 general election. Its area came from the majority of the Glasgow Baillieston constituency, with the remainder formed from the Glasgow Shettleston constituency. It is one of the most deprived constituencies in the UK, with 30% of the working-age population on unemployment or incapacity benefit and nearly 40% of children growing up in homes where there is no adult in paid employment.
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