- Kilmarnock by-election, 1946
The Kilmarnock by-election, 1946 was a
by-election held on5 December 1946 for theBritish House of Commons constituency of Kilmarnock inAyrshire .Vacancy
The seat had become vacant on
2 October 1946 when the LabourMember of Parliament (MP),Clarice Shaw had resigned her seat. She died on27 October at the age of 63.Shaw had held the seat since the general election in July 1945, but ill-health had prevented her from ever attending the House of Commons.
Candidates
The Labour Party candidate was 35-year-old Willie Ross, a schoolteacher before
World War II who was recently demobilised from theBritish Army , where he had risen to the rank ofMajor . At the 1945 general election he had unsuccessfully contested the Ayr Burghs constituency.The Unionist candidate was Lieutenant-Colonel George E. O. Walker, who had also been the Unionist candidate at the general election. The
Scottish National Party fielded George Dott.Result
The result was a victory for Ross, who held the seat with a fractionally increased share of the vote. He held the seat until he stepped down at the 1979 general election, having been
Secretary of State for Scotland for two periods totalling 8 years.Votes
Election box begin
title=Kilmarnock by-election, 5 December 1946Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Willie Ross
votes = 22,456
percentage = 59.7
change = +0.3Election box candidate with party link
party = Unionist Party (Scotland)
candidate = George E. O. Walker
votes = 12,239
percentage = 32.5
change = −8.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish National Party
candidate = George Dott
votes = 2,932
percentage = 7.8
change = N/AElection box majority
votes = 10,217
percentage = 27.2
change = +8.4Election box turnout
votes = 37,627
percentage = 68.4
change = −7.7Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing = +4.2Election box begin
title=General Election, July 1945: KilmarnockElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate =Clarice Shaw
votes = 23,837
percentage = 59.4
change = +26.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Unionist Party (Scotland)
candidate = G. E. O. Walker
votes = 16,300
percentage = 40.6
change = N/AElection box majority
votes = 7,537
percentage = 18.8
change = Election box turnout
votes = 40,137
percentage = 76.1
change = −2.7Election box gain with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
loser = National Labour Party (UK)
swing = N/Aee also
*
Kilmarnock (UK Parliament constituency)
*Kilmarnock
*Kilmarnock by-election, 1929
*Kilmarnock by-election, 1933
*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
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