Glasgow East is one of seven constituencies covering the Glasgow City council area. All are entirely within the council area. Glasgow East comprises the pre-2007 Glasgow City wards of Baillieston, Barlanark, Braidfauld, Easterhouse, Garrowhill, Garthamlock, Greenfield, Mount Vernon, Parkhead, Queenslie, Shettleston, and Tollcross Park. Prior to the 2005 general election, the city area was covered by ten constituencies, of which two straddled boundaries with other council areas. The Glasgow East constituency includes the area of the former Glasgow Baillieston constituency and parts of the former Glasgow Shettleston constituency. Scottish Parliament constituencies retain the names and boundaries of the older Westminster constituencies. Glasgow Baillieston had always been represented by MPs from the Labour Party until 2008, as was the predecessor Glasgow Provan constituency from its creation in 1955. Glasgow Shettleston was won by the Labour Party at every general election from 1950 onwards. In 2008, the SNP succeeded in winning the seat from Labour in a by-election on a very large swing. Prior to the by-election, it had been one of the safest Labour seats in the UK. At the 2010 general election, the seat was regained for Labour by Margaret Curran from John Mason of the SNP; with a large majority of more than 11,000 votes. The Glasgow East constituency contains part of the M8 motorway and main railway lines into the city centre; Celtic Park, the home ground of Celtic F.C. is located within the constituency. It is one of the most deprived constituencies in the UK. Nearly 40% of adults smoke, and on average there are twenty-five drug-related deaths a year. Average male life expectancy is 68, five years less than the Scottish average, while in the Shettleston area it is 63. A 2008 World Health Organization report gave the average male life expectancy in Calton as 54, which is lower than it was before the Second World War.
2008 by-election
On 28 June 2008, the sitting MP David Marshall announced he would step down because of a stress-related illness; he was appointed Steward of the Manor of Northstead on 30 June 2008, thus effectively resigning from the House of Commons. Although the seat represented Labour's third-largest majority in Scotland, it faced a strong challenge from the Scottish National Party, hot on the heels of Labour's disastrous performance at the 2008 Henley by-election. Nominations for candidates closed at 4pm on 9 July, and the election took place on 24 July. On 25 July 2008, and after a recount, the SNP candidate John Mason won the seat with a narrow majority of 365 votes over the Labour Party candidate, Margaret Curran.
