From the first time it was contested in 1950 through to the 1966 general election, the Dundee East seat returned Labour MPs Labour with comfortable majorities of between 3,805 and 8,126 votes over the second-placed Conservatives. Additionally the Labour candidate always polled more than 50% of the votes cast in these contests. However in 1970, Labour's majority over the Conservatives fell to 2,798 votes and the Labour share dipped below 50%. The same year saw the SNPcontest the seat in a general election for the first time, though they had previously contested the 1952 by-election.