Hamilton South
Labour hold

The SNP ran Labour close in the by-election caused by George Robertson's double elevation to the House of Lords and the post of Secretary General of Nato in the second half of 1999, but it should be remembered that voters notoriously dislike contests triggered in midterm for what they may see as unnecessary elections (see for example how much better Labour did in defending Glasgow Anniesland following the death of Donald Dewar in late 2000). Labour had held on easily in the regularly scheduled Scottish parliament contest 1999 in Hamilton South in May, for example, and there is no reason to suppose that it will be particularly vulnerable at the next general election.

Bill Tynan narrowly squeaked in as George Robertson's successor here in 1999. A safe pair of union hands, as a toolmaker (of 27 years)-turned-AEEU-political-officer for 11 years, he was born 1940, educated at St. Mungo's Academy, Glasgow and Stow College (where he trained as a mechanical engineer). Gnarled, dour-looking and austere, he loyally looks forward to fighting on the Blair government's economic record and backs his Union boss Sir Ken Jackson's Europhile stance.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 4.54% 14.99% 30.30 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.00% 2.13% 0.00 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.00% 2.49% 0.00 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 5.50% 4.43% 124.33 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 15.74% 7.27% 216.40 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 1.23% 2.56% 47.84 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.00% 2.04% 0.00 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 0.40% 3.94% 10.08 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 3.47% 13.04% 26.63 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 4.43% 12.70% 34.89 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 5.71% 8.14% 70.08 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 0.01% 4.02% 0.29 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 3.93% 3.19% 123.22 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 34.56% 11.31% 305.56 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 10.00% 3.06% 326.55 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 10.48% 2.52% 416.22 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 0.00% 2.10% 0.00 Unclassified Unclassified 0.00% 0.06% 0.00

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 10.45% 9.41% 111.00 £5-10K 17.93% 16.63% 107.78 £10-15K 17.47% 16.58% 105.39 £15-20K 14.07% 13.58% 103.56 £20-25K 10.57% 10.39% 101.69 £25-30K 7.74% 7.77% 99.51 £30-35K 5.62% 5.79% 96.95 £35-40K 4.08% 4.33% 94.08 £40-45K 2.97% 3.27% 91.00 £45-50K 2.18% 2.48% 87.82 £50-55K 1.61% 1.90% 84.61 £55-60K 1.20% 1.47% 81.45 £60-65K 0.90% 1.15% 78.37 £65-70K 0.68% 0.91% 75.42 £70-75K 0.52% 0.72% 72.59 £75-80K 0.40% 0.57% 69.92 £80-85K 0.31% 0.46% 67.39 £85-90K 0.24% 0.37% 65.02 £90-95K 0.19% 0.31% 62.79 £95-100K 0.15% 0.25% 60.70 £100K + 0.68% 1.34% 50.74