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Airdrie and Shotts constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 34.3% ( 28.0 pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2021 Airdrie and Shotts by-election was held in the UK parliament constituency of Airdrie and Shotts following the resignation of the sitting member (MP), Neil Gray, to run for the corresponding seat (which he subsequently won) in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[1] This was necessitated by Scottish National Party (SNP) rules banning its members from sitting as an MSP and an MP at the same time. It took place on 13 May 2021, a week after the Scottish Parliament elections, to reduce COVID-19 transmission risk.[2]
The by-election was the second to the 58th Parliament elected in 2019. This by-election ended a long lull between House of Commons by-elections in Scotland, with the last one having been held in Inverclyde in 2011. This was the first by-election to a Westminster constituency in which the SNP was the defending party. Anum Qaisar-Javed held the seat for the SNP with a decreased majority but an increased share of the vote.[3]
- ^ Sim, Philip [@BBCPhilipSim] (24 March 2021). "This is now confirmed: Neil Gray has gone from being MP for Airdrie and Shotts to the Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead (...which is one way of quitting Westminster) - and as of tomorrow will be the SNP candidate to be MSP for Airdrie and Shotts. By-election incoming" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 March 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Tonner, Judith (26 March 2021). "Two elections in one week for Airdrie & Shotts voters". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "SNP holds Airdrie and Shotts seat in by-election". BBC News. 14 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.