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.
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The by-election was held following the death of the constituency's MSP, Helen Eadie, who had been diagnosed with cancer the previous year.[1]
Eadie had represented 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 46.5% of the vote and a majority of 1,247 votes (4.9%) over the second placed Scottish National Party candidate.
In the by-election, the seat was held by Labour candidate Alex Rowley, increasing Labour's vote share to 55.8% and majority to 27.4% over SNP candidate Natalie McGarry, with an 11.25% swing.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Alex Rowley | 11,192 | 55.8 | +9.3 | |
| SNP | Natalie McGarry | 5,704 | 28.4 | -13.2 | |
| Conservative | Dave Dempsey | 1,893 | 9.4 | +2.4 | |
| UKIP | Denise Baykal | 610 | 3.04 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jade Holden | 425 | 2.1 | -1.8 | |
| The Victims Final Right | Stuart Graham | 187 | 0.93 | New | |
| SDA | James Trolland | 51 | 0.25 | New | |
| Majority | 5,488 | 27.4 | +22.5 | ||
| Turnout | 20,062 | 38.4 | -8.5 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +11.25 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Helen Eadie | 11,926 | 46.5 | ||
| SNP | Ian Chisholm | 10,679 | 41.6 | ||
| Conservative | Belinda Don | 1,792 | 7.0 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Keith Legg | 997 | 3.9 | ||
| Land Party | Mick Heenan | 276 | 1.1 | ||
| Majority | 1,247 | 4.9 | |||
| Turnout | 25,670 | 46.9 | |||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Despite Labour's by-election success, in the subsequent 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Annabelle Ewing gained the constituency for the SNP, although Rowley was re-elected to the Scottish parliament as an additional member for the Mid Scotland Fife region.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Annabelle Ewing | 13,715 | 46.1 | +4.5 | |
| Labour | Alex Rowley | 10,674 | 35.7 | -10.8 | |
| Conservative | Dave Dempsey | 4,251 | 14.2 | +7.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Bryn Jones | 1,094 | 3.7 | -0.2 | |
| Majority | 3,041 | 10.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 29,857 | 54.7 | +7.8 | ||
| SNP gain from Labour | Swing | +7.65 | |||
- Cowdenbeath, and its predecessor, Dunfermline East
- Elections in Scotland
- List of by-elections to the Scottish Parliament
- "Labour MSP Helen Eadie dies, aged 66". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- "Cowdenbeath by-election: Alex Rowley holds seat for Labour". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- Candidates Fife News Online - Facebook
- Seven candidates will fight Cowdenbeath By-election Archived 24 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine CentralFifeTimes
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