Constituency profile

Rutherglen

Scotland · Burgh constituency · South Lanarkshire borough

Michael Shanks MP
Sitting MP

Michael Shanks

Labour

First elected October 2023

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
Scotland
Burgh constituency, South Lanarkshire council
Last 5 GE winners
LSLSL
Labour 3/5, SNP 2/5
EU referendum 2016
36.8% Leave
UK average 51.9%; -15.1pp below mean
Current outlook
SNP +4.3pp
Vulnerability score 7/10 (Labour projected to lose)
ScottishRemain-leaningGraduate-heavy

Who lives in Rutherglen? Constituency demographics

From the 2021 Census and 2016 EU referendum estimates. Constituency-level data on 2024 boundaries.

Leave vote 2016
36.8%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
43.1%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
19.7%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
68.3%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
30.8%
UK average ~36%
Median age
43.3
UK median ~40
Age 65+
23.6%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
26.6%
UK average ~28%

How did Rutherglen vote in 2024 and how would it vote now?

2024 vote shares from the HoC Library. Current projection is at the 7-poll average.

2024 general election

Lab gain from SNP · majority 8,767 votes (20.6pp) · turnout 58.5%

Current projection

If a general election were held today, at current poll average

Map of Rutherglen

Switch between ward-level 2024 election winners and a demographic view. Ward winners are Britain Elects' / New Statesman modelled estimates with an average ~4pp margin of error per ward. The demographic view splits the seat into small neighbourhoods (around 800 residents each, from Scotland's 2022 Census). Hover any area for detail.

Holyrood 2026 layer

How Rutherglen voted at the Scottish Parliament election (7 May 2026)

Rutherglen crosses multiple Holyrood boundaries: Rutherglen and Cambuslang (75%), Uddingston and Bellshill (19%), Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston (3%), Glasgow Cathcart and Pollok (1%), Glasgow Southside (1%). Scotland uses the Additional Member System: voters cast one ballot for a constituency MSP and a second for a regional list. The figures below are the constituency vote.

Holyrood constituencyShare of RutherglenWinnerRunner-upElected MSP
Rutherglen and Cambuslang75%SNP 44.2%Labour 26.9%Clare Haughey
Uddingston and Bellshill19%SNP 40.9%Labour 30.2%Steven Bonnar
Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston3%SNP 44.7%Reform UK 25.8%David Linden
Glasgow Cathcart and Pollok1%SNP 44.3%Labour 28.3%Zen Ghani
Glasgow Southside1%Green 36.5%SNP 28.4%Holly Bruce

Holyrood 2026 constituency results from official declarations. Overlap percentages are area-based using the post-2024 Westminster boundary against the new Holyrood second-review boundary (in force from 7 May 2026).

Council layer (not Westminster)

Rutherglen within South Lanarkshire

The Westminster constituency of Rutherglen sits entirely within South Lanarkshire Council. Local council elections are a separate ballot from Westminster general elections - the figures below are from the council elections held on Thursday 7 May 2026.

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seat
South Lanarkshire
1 LSOAs
100%

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward. Where May 2026 elections happened, those are shown; otherwise the most recent year on the ward’s pre-2026 boundary (via DCLEAPIL, 2014-2024). The "Shift since GE2024" column is only computed for May 2026 results - earlier council votes pre-date the GE, so no directional shift is shown.

Loading ward results...
Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for Rutherglen at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won Rutherglen at past general elections?

2024 result is on current boundaries. The 2019 row is the UK Parliament's notional recalculation onto the 2024 boundaries (directly comparable to 2024). The 2010, 2015 and 2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time and aren't directly comparable.

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010predecessorLab holdTom Greatrex Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP60.8%9.7%12.0%1.4% UKIP--21,00261.5%
2015predecessorSNP gain from Lab CoopMargaret Ferrier Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP35.2%7.6%1.8%2.3% UKIP-0.6%9,97569.6%
2017predecessorLab gain from SNPGerard Killen Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP37.5%19.5%4.2%0.9% UKIP-0.7%26563.5%
2019notionalScottish National Party winnerMargaret Ferrier Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP, pre-review boundary31.2%17.3%7.2%1.3% Brx-43.1%5,85568.4%
2024Lab gain from SNPMichael Shanks50.5%5.7%4.0%6.3% Ref-3.6%8,76758.5%

Rutherglen was created or substantially redrawn by the 2023 boundary review. Pre-2024 rows below are for the predecessor seat Rutherglen and Hamilton West (the seat that covered most of this area), so vote shares and majorities aren’t directly comparable to the post-2024 figures.

Constituencies most like Rutherglen

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to Rutherglen. Politics shown for context.

What would change this seat?

Move the sliders to set national vote shares. The per-seat projection updates live. Reset returns to the current 7-poll average.

Related

Sources

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