- Midlothian and Peebles Northern by-election, 1943
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The Midlothian and Peebles Northern by-election, 1943 was a parliamentary by-election held in Scotland on 11 February 1943 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for the House of Commons constituency of Midlothian and Peebles Northern.
It was notable for the strong showing of the Common Wealth Party candidate.
Contents
Vacancy
The vacancy was caused by the resignation in January 1943[1] of the constituency's Unionist MP, John Colville, to take up the post of Governor of Bombay. He had held the seat since the 1929 general election.[2]
Candidates
During World War II, the parties in the Coalition Government had agreed not to contest by-elections in seats held by other coalition parties, and many wartime by-elections were therefore unopposed.
The Unionist Party nominated Sir David King Murray, the Solicitor General for Scotland, who may have expected to be returned unopposed. The Labour, Liberal and National Liberal parties upheld the agreement, but other parties who disagreed with the truce could not be prevented from standing as independent candidates, and nor could other minor parties. In this case the newly-formed Common Wealth Party nominated as its candidate Tom Wintringham, one of party's founders.
Result
The result was a victory for the Unionist candidate, Sir David King Murray,[3] but with a massively-reduced majority. At the 1935 general election, the Unionist majority over the Labour Party candidate had been 25.8% of the votes, but Wintringham cut that to 3.8%.[2]
By-election 1943: Midlothian and Peebles Northern [2][4] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Unionist Sir David King Murray KC 11,620 51.9 −11.0 Common Wealth Tom Wintringham 10,751 48.1 N/A Majority 869 3.8 −22.0 Turnout 22,371 34.6 −39.7 Unionist hold Swing −11.0 Aftermath
King Murray held the seat only until the post-war general election in May 1945, when he stood down to be a Senator of the College of Justice and a Lord of Session.
Wintringham stood in Aldershot at the 1945 general election, but without success. His wife Kitty contested Midlothian and Peebles in 1945, but won only 6.4% of the votes and lost her deposit.[2]
References
- ^ Department of Information Services (9 June 2009). "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850". House of Commons Library. http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-04731.pdf. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
- ^ a b c d Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 638. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- ^ London Gazette: no. 35907. p. 827. 16 February 1943. Retrieved 11 July 20100.
- ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1944
See also
« 1931-1935 Parliament « By-elections to the 1935-1945 Parliament of the United Kingdom » 1945-1950 Parliament » 1936 January: Combined Scottish Universities • February: Ross and Cromarty • March: Dunbartonshire • Llanelli • May: Peckham • June: Lewes • July: Derby • Balham and Tooting • East Grinstead • October: Birmingham Erdington • November: Clay Cross • Preston • Greenock1937 February: St Pancras North • Manchester Gorton • Oxford University • Richmond-upon-Thames • March: Combined English Universities • Tonbridge • Farnham • April: Stalybridge and Hyde • Wandsworth Central • Birmingham West • May: York • June: Glasgow Hillhead • Buckingham • Plymouth Drake • Cheltenham • Hemel Hempstead • Holland with Boston • Bewdley • Ilford • St Ives • July: Kingston-upon-Thames • Chertsey • North Dorset • September: Glasgow Springburn • October: Islington North • November: Hastings1938 January: Farnworth • February: Pontypridd • Ipswich • Combined Scottish Universities • April: City of London • Fulham West • May: Lichfield • Aylesbury • June: West Derbyshire • Stafford • Barnsley • July: Willesden East • October: Oxford • November: Dartford • Walsall • Bridgwater • Doncaster • Lewisham West • Fylde • December: Kinross-shire and Perthshire1939 January: East Norfolk • February: Holderness • Ripon • March: Batley and Morley • Kincardineshire and West Aberdeenshire • April: South Ayrshire • May: Down • Sheffield Hallam • Westminster Abbey • Birmingham Aston • Southwark North • Kennington • July: Caerphilly • Portsmouth South • North Cornwall • Hythe • Monmouth • Colne Valley • August: Brecon and Radnor • October: Fareham • High Peak • Clackmannanshire and East Stirlingshire • Ormskirk • Ashton-under-Lyne • November: Macclesfield • December: Streatham • Manchester Stretford • Wells1940 February: Southampton • City of London • Swansea East • Belfast East • Southwark Central • Silvertown • Cambridge University • March: Kettering • City of Chester • Leeds North East • April: Argyll • Lonsdale • Battersea North • Glasgow Pollok • May: Brighton • East Renfrewshire • Middleton and Prestwich • June: Spen Valley • Newcastle North • Newcastle West • Bow and Bromley • Croydon North • Wandsworth Central • Bournemouth • July: Montrose Burghs • Nottingham Central • Rochdale • Wansbeck • August: Middlesbrough West • Mitcham • Heywood and Radcliffe • September: Bolton • Manchester Exchange • Preston • November: Queen's University Belfast • Aldershot • Southampton • December: Northampton • Birmingham Erdington1941 February: Doncaster • South Dorset • Petersfield • Dunbartonshire • March: Hitchin • Bodmin • Carmarthen • April: Great Yarmouth • West Bromwich • Mansfield • May: King's Norton • Hornsey • June: West Dorset • July: Greenock • Edinburgh West • Dudley • Pontefract • August: Berwick-upon-Tweed • September: Scarborough and Whitby • The Wrekin • October: Lancaster • November: Brighton • Hampstead • December: Harrow • Edinburgh Central1942 February: North East Derbyshire • Keighley • March: Nuneaton • Manchester Gorton • Newcastle-under-Lyme • Wigan • Grantham • April: Tavistock • Cardiff East • Glasgow Cathcart • Wallasey • Rugby • May: Putney • Chichester • June: Llandaff and Barry • Maldon • Windsor • July: Salisbury • Spennymoor • August: Rothwell • Whitechapel and St Georges • Poplar South • Sheffield Park • October: Manchester Clayton • Ince1943 January: Hamilton • University of Wales • February: Belfast West • Ashford • Antrim • Midlothian and Peebles • King's Lynn • Portsmouth North • Bristol Central • Watford • April: Buckingham • Eddisbury • Daventry • June: The Hartlepools • Newark • Birmingham Aston • July: Burton-on-Trent • August: Chippenham • October: St Albans • Peterborough • November: Woolwich West • December: Consett • Darwen • Acton1944 January: Skipton • February: Brighton • West Derbyshire • Kirkcaldy Burghs • Sheffield Attercliffe • Bury St Edmunds • March: Camberwell North • April: Clay Cross • July: Manchester Rusholme • September: Bilston • October: Chelsea • Berwick-upon-Tweed1945 April: Motherwell • Combined Scottish Universities • Chelmsford • Caernarvon Boroughs • May: Middlesbrough West • Neath • NewportLists of UK by-elections: 1868–1885 • 1885–1900 • 1900–1918 • 1918–1931 • 1931–1950 • 1950–1979 • 1979–present Categories:- 1943 elections in the United Kingdom
- 1943 in Scotland
- By-elections to the United Kingdom Parliament in Scottish constituencies
- Politics of Midlothian
- Scotland politics stubs
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