Kilmarnock by-election, 1929

The Kilmarnock by-election, 1929 was a by-election held on 27 November 1929 for the British House of Commons constituency of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire.

The first Scottish by-election since the general election in May 1929, it was won by the Labour Party candidate Craigie Mason Aitchison.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant when the sitting Labour Member of Parliament (MP), Robert Climie had died at the age of 61 on 3 October 1929. He had held the seat since the general election in May 1929, having previously been Kilmarnock's MP from 1923 until his defeat in the 1924 general election.

Candidates

The Labour Party candidate was 47-year-old Craigie Mason Aitchison KC, who had been the Lord Advocate of Scotland since June 1929. He had stood as a Liberal Party candidate in Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire at the 1922 and 1923 general elections. He had contested the 1924 general election a Labour candidate in Hartlepool, and in May 1929 came within a small margin of winning the Unionist-held Glasgow Central seat.

The Unionist candidate was 41-year-old Charles Glen MacAndrew, who had won the seat from Climie in 1924, but lost it again in May 1929.

The third candidate was Mrs I. Brown, of the Communist Party of Great Britain. The Liberals, who had finished third at the general election, did not field a candidate.

Result

The result was a victory for the Labour candidate, Craigie Aitchison, who held the seat with an increased share of the vote. However, his majority was lower than Climie's, the Unionists having benefitted from the absence of a Liberal candidate.

Aitchison was re-elected at the 1931 general election as a National Labour candidate, having sided with Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald when the Labour Party split and MacDonald formed a National Government with the Conservative Party. He resigned his seat in 1933, when he was appointed Lord Justice Clerk.

MacAndrew returned to the House of Commons in 1931 as MP for Glasgow Partick.

Votes

Election box begin
title=Kilmarnock by-election, 27 November 1929Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Craigie Mason Aitchison
votes = 18,465
percentage = 55.6
change = +7.4Election box candidate with party link
party = Unionist Party (Scotland)
candidate = Charles Glen MacAndrew
votes = 13,270
percentage = 40.0
change = +9.6Election box candidate with party link
party = Communist Party of Great Britain
candidate = I. Brown
votes = 1,448
percentage = 4.4
change = N/AElection box majority
votes = 5,195
percentage = 15.6
change = −2.2Election box turnout
votes = 33,183
percentage = 71.7
change = −6.1Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing = 12.6

Election box begin
title=General Election, May 1929: KilmarnockElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Robert Climie
votes = 17,368
percentage = 48.2
change = +0.4Election box candidate with party link
party = Unionist Party (Scotland)
candidate = Charles Glen MacAndrew
votes = 10,939
percentage = 30.4
change = −21.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = J. R. Rutherford
votes = 7,700
percentage = 21.4
change = N/AElection box majority
votes = 6,429
percentage = 17.8
change = N/AElection box turnout
votes = 36,007
percentage = 77.8
change = −0.7Election box gain with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
loser = Unionist Party (Scotland)
swing = +11.2

ee also

*Kilmarnock (UK Parliament constituency)
*Kilmarnock
*Kilmarnock by-election, 1933
*Kilmarnock by-election, 1946
*List of United Kingdom by-elections (1931–1950)
*Elections in Scotland

Sources

*cite book |last=Craig |first=F. W. S. |authorlink= F. W. S. Craig |title=British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 |origyear=1969 |edition= 3rd edition |year=1983 |publisher= Parliamentary Research Services |location=Chichester |id= ISBN 0-900178-06-X
*Rayment-hc