Rutherglen is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of South Lanarkshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, it is one of nine constituencies in the Glasgow electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole. Originally called Glasgow Rutherglen, the boundaries were redrawn and the new constituency renamed simply Rutherglen for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.
The seat has been held by Clare Haughey of the Scottish National Party since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.
As a result of the second periodic review of Scottish Parliament boundaries in 2025, Rutherglen will be replaced by a new Rutherglen and Cambuslang constituency from the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. The new constituency covers the entire area of the Rutherglen constituency, along with a very small portion of Uddingston and Bellshill.
The other eight constituencies of the Glasgow region are: Glasgow Anniesland, Glasgow Cathcart, Glasgow Kelvin, Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Glasgow Pollok, Glasgow Provan, Glasgow Shettleston and Glasgow Southside.
The region covers the Glasgow City council area and a north-western portion of the South Lanarkshire council area.
The redrawn seat of Rutherglen consists of the following electoral wards:
BBC profile for 2016 election: