The Govan By-Election: Thirty Years On

By: Conrad Landin

In November 1988 the SNP overturned a Labour majority of 13,000 in a campaign that foreshadowed their rise to the top of Scottish politics.

After growing steadily disillusioned with Labour, Jim Sillars left the party to fight for greater autonomy for Scotland. (Photo by Staff / Mirrorpix / Getty Images.)

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In May of 2018 the Scottish National Party published its blueprint for economic separation, produced by the party’s ‘Sustainable Growth Commission’. Advocating restrained public spending and keeping the pound for a lengthy period, it would never sit comfortably with the nationalists’ contention that Scottish independence is the road to social justice.

The document coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of the 1988 Govan by-election, in which Jim Sillars overturned a Labour majority of 13,000. Many consider that shock to be the start of the nationalists’ seemingly unstoppable rise in Scottish politics, a campaign the SNP won from the left which paved the way for sweeping incursions into the Labour heartland in years to come.

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In May of 2018 the Scottish National Party published its blueprint for economic separation, produced by the party’s ‘Sustainable Growth Commission’. Advocating restrained public spending and keeping the pound for a lengthy period, it would never sit comfortably with the nationalists’ contention that Scottish independence is the road to social justice.

The document coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of the 1988 Govan by-election, in which Jim Sillars overturned a Labour majority of 13,000. Many consider that shock to be the start of the nationalists’ seemingly unstoppable rise in Scottish politics, a campaign the SNP won from the left which paved the way for sweeping incursions into the Labour heartland in years to come.

Large

In May of 2018 the Scottish National Party published its blueprint for economic separation, produced by the party’s ‘Sustainable Growth Commission’. Advocating restrained public spending and keeping the pound for a lengthy period, it would never sit comfortably with the nationalists’ contention that Scottish independence is the road to social justice.

The document coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of the 1988 Govan by-election, in which Jim Sillars overturned a Labour majority of 13,000. Many consider that shock to be the start of the nationalists’ seemingly unstoppable rise in Scottish politics, a campaign the SNP won from the left which paved the way for sweeping incursions into the Labour heartland in years to come.

In May of 2018 the Scottish National Party published its blueprint for economic separation, produced by the party’s ‘Sustainable Growth Commission’. Advocating restrained public spending and keeping the pound for a lengthy period, it would never sit comfortably with the nationalists’ contention that Scottish independence is the road to social justice.

The document coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of the 1988 Govan by-election, in which Jim Sillars overturned a Labour majority of 13,000. Many consider that shock to be the start of the nationalists’ seemingly unstoppable rise in Scottish politics, a campaign the SNP won from the left which paved the way for sweeping incursions into the Labour heartland in years to come.

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