2005 Livingston by-election

29 September 2005
Turnout	38.6%
First party Second party   Lab Candidate Jim Devine Angela Constance Party Labour SNP Popular vote 12,319 9,639 Percentage 41.8% 32.7% Swing 9.3% 11.1%   Third party Fourth party   LD Candidate Charles Dundas Gordon Lindhurst Party Liberal Democrats Conservative Popular vote 4,362 1,993 Percentage 14.8% 6.8% Swing 0.6% 3.4%
MP before election Robin Cook Labour Elected MP Jim Devine Labour

This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the
Politics of Scotland
The Crown The Monarch Charles III Heir apparent William, Duke of Rothesay Prerogative Royal family Succession Privy Council Union of the Crowns Balmoral Castle Holyrood Palace Scottish republicanism
Executive Scottish Government Yousaf government First Minister The Rt Hon Humza Yousaf MSP Deputy First Minister Shona Robison MSP Cabinet Secretaries Junior Ministers Directorates Scottish budget Taxation Executive agencies Public bodies Bute House St Andrew's House International relations
Legislature Scottish Parliament Sixth session Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone MSP Primary legislation Statutory instrument Committees First Minister's Questions Scotland Act 1998 2012 Act 2016 Act EU Continuity Act 2020
Law and justice Justice Secretary Keith Brown MSP Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC Lord President The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC Scots law Udal law Courts Judiciary Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Police Scotland Scottish Prison Service Advocate General Solicitor General
Elections and referendums Scottish Parliament elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next United Kingdom Parliament elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 European Parliament elections 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Local elections 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1977 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1995 1999 2003 2007 2012 2017 2022 Referendums 1975 1979 1994 1997 2005 2011 2014 2016 Scottish Parliament constituencies Scottish Parliament electoral regions Scottish Westminster constituencies Proposed second independence referendum Electoral system Political parties
Scotland and the United Kingdom United Kingdom Government Sunak ministry Prime Minister The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP Secretary of State for Scotland The Rt Hon Alister Jack MP Scottish devolution Treaty of Union House of Commons House of Lords Scotland Office Scottish Affairs Committee Scottish Grand Committee Interministerial Standing Committee Barnett formula Reserved matters Sewel motion
Administration Council areas History Sheriffdoms Community councils Lieutenancy areas Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
Category Scotland portal Other countries

The 2005 Livingston by-election was triggered when Robin Cook, the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Livingston, in Scotland, died on 6 August 2005.

Notice of the vacancy in the constituency was published in the London Gazette on 2 September 2005, which allowed the Speaker of the House of Commons to issue the writ for the election on 8 September under the Recess Elections Act 1975. The poll was held on 29 September, in the week of the Labour Party Conference, when the Labour candidate Jim Devine held the seat for his party.

A by-election for the Glasgow Cathcart seat in the Scottish Parliament was also held on the same day.

Results

Livingston by-election, 2005^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Devine	12,319	41.8	9.3
	SNP	Angela Constance	9,639	32.7	11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Dundas	4,362	14.8	0.6
	Conservative	Gordon Lindhurst	1,993	6.8	3.4
	Scottish Green	David Robertson	529	1.8	New
	Scottish Socialist	Steven Nimmo	407	1.4	0.4
	UKIP	Peter Adams	108	0.4	New
	Independent	Melville Brown	55	0.2	New
	Alliance for Change (UK)	John William Allman	33	0.1	New
	Socialist (GB)	Brian Gardner	32	0.1	New
Majority			2,680	9.1	20.4
Turnout			29,477	38.6	19.5
	Labour hold		Swing	10.2

General Election 2005: Livingston
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robin Cook	22,657	51.1	1.9
	SNP	Angela Constance	9,560	21.6	2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Dundas	6,832	15.4	5.5
	Conservative	Alison Ross	4,499	10.1	2.5
	Scottish Socialist	Steven Nimmo	789	1.8	1.2
Majority			13,097	29.5	0.1
Turnout			44,337	58.1	2.0
	Labour hold		Swing	1.2

Reaction to results

Labour's retention of the seat, albeit with a reduced majority, was regarded by the party with satisfaction. The Scottish National Party was the only party to increase their vote from the general election, and although they did not win, they achieved a swing of 10% from Labour. The Liberal Democrats' share of the vote fell by 0.6%.

There was a swing from Labour to Conservatives of 3%, but given the fourth-place position of the Conservative Party in this seat, and their third-place position in Scotland, the significance of this is debatable.

In 2007 Angela Constance gained the Livingston seat in the Scottish Parliament (which has slightly different boundaries) from Labour.

See also

• Livingston (UK Parliament constituency)
• Elections in Scotland

References

External links

• Campaign literature from the by-election
• BBC News: Date is set for Cook by-election
• Scottish Election Results 1997 - present