Nearly all of Hamilton is contained within this seat, a town which serves as the commercial and legal centre for Lanarkshire
The seat also holds some of Glasgow's more prosperous suburbs and commuters are aided by the presence of the M74 running through its eastern half. It is predominantly a working-class area where coal and steel were once the prime industries.
Hamilton was the scene of a famous 1967 by-election, which saw the SNP's Winnie Ewing winning what had previously been the safest Labour seat in Scotland. This victory marked the beginning of the SNP's rise in popularity which reached its peak in October 1974. However, Labour regained the seat at the 1970 General Election and has held it ever since.
Sitting MP George Robertson was appointed Secretary General of Nato and elevated to the House of Lords in August 1999. In the subsequent by-election, Labour only held onto the seat by the skin of their teeth, with their candidate Bill Tynan scraping to victory with a majority of 556 votes over the SNP.