Dundee East by-election, 1973

There was a by-election for Dundee East, in Scotland, on March 1st, 1973. It was one of three UK parliamentary by-elections held on that day.

It was caused by the appointment of George Thomson as a European commissioner.

George Machin retained the seat for Labour, but only narrowly.

There was a strong showing by the Scottish National Party, which prefigured their serious breakthrough at the Govan by-election later in the year, and the two general elections of 1974.

Results

Dundee East by-election, 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Machin	14,411
	SNP	Gordon Wilson	13,270
	Conservative	William Fitzgerald	11,089
	Liberal	Nathaniel Gordon	3,653
	Labour Party of Scotland	George MacLean	1,409
	Independent	John S Thomson	182
Majority			1,141
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

See also

• Dundee East (UK Parliament constituency)
• List of United Kingdom by-elections (1950–1979)
• Lincoln by-election, 1973
• Chester-le-Street by-election, 1973