1933 Kilmarnock by-election

1933 UK Parliamentary by-election March 2020 June 2025 November 2013 The 1933 Kilmarnock by-election was a by-election held on 2 November 1933 for the UK House of Commons constituency of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire. Vacancy June 2025 The vacancy had arisen when Scotland's second most senior judge, the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Alness, retired. It was a long-standing convention that when a vacancy arose in this office (or in the most senior judicial office, that of Lord President), the Lord Advocate (head of the Scottish criminal justice system) of the day would be appointed to fill the vacancy. The Lord Advocate in 1933 was Sir Craigie Mason Aitchison, K.C., M.P., and so he was appointed to the bench, automatically resigning his seat. Aitchison had been elected as a member of the Labour Party in a 1929 by-election following the death of Robert Climie. In 1931, the Labour Government had split, with a handful of Labour MPs, including Aitchison, following Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald into a coalition National Government with the Conservatives. These MPs were expelled from the Labour Party and called themselves National Labour. Candidates The National Labour candidate was 37-year-old Kenneth Lindsay, who had contested the 1924 and 1929 elections as a Labour Party candidate in English constituencies. The parties in the National Government did not contest by-elections when vacancies arose in seats held by other parties in the government, so the Unionist Party and the Liberal Nationals did not field candidates. Prominent Scottish Unionist and cabinet minister Walter Elliot wrote a letter endorsing Lindsay and urging voters to support him.Mr Elliot's letter to Mr Lindsay https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19331026&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 1 November 2020 The Glasgow Herald 26 October 1933 9 He was also supported by Ishbel MacDonald, daughter of Ramsay MacDonald, who addressed female voters and urged them to back him.Miss MacDonald's Appeal to Women https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19331026&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 2 November 2020 The Glasgow Herald 26 October 1933 10 The Labour Party candidate in Kilmarnock was Rev James Barr, hoping to regain the seat which Labour had won in 1929. John Pollock stood for the Independent Labour Party, and Sir A. M. MacEwen represented both the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Partyhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=c6JAAAAAIBAJ&pg=5777%2C447721 Kilmarnock By-election Result. National Government Success. Mr Lindsay's majority over Labour candidate. Scottish National Champion Last The Glasgow Herald 3 November 1933 11 26 April 2017 (the two parties united the following year to form the Scottish National Party). The Duke of Montrose, one of the leaders of the Scottish Party, made a prominent speech in support of MacEwan in Kilmarnock during the campaign. During this speech he addressed the issue of the position of Scottish home rule in relation to the Irish in Scotland While he stated that he had "nothing but friendly feelings for the Irish", he added that when Ireland achieved Home Rule, "Scottish men and women were disenfranchised" and stated "as they did to us we should do to them and others."The Irish in Scotland. Attitude of the Home Rule Party. Duke of Montrose's Kilmarnock Declaration https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19331026&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 1 November 2020 The Glasgow Herald 26 October 1933 9 Result With the Labour vote split three ways, the result was a victory for Lindsay, who was elected with less than 35% of the vote, one of the smallest vote shares ever for a by-election winner.United Kingdom by-election records He held the seat until the 1945 general election, when he was elected as an independent MP for the Combined English Universities.June 2025 Votes Kilmarnock by-election, 2 November 1933 National Labour Organisation Kenneth Lindsay 12,577 34.8 −24.8 Labour Party (UK) James Barr 9,924 27.4 N/A Independent Labour Party John Pollock 7,575 20.9 −19.5 Scottish Party Alexander MacEwen 6,098 16.9 New 2,653 7.4 −11.8 36,174 77.3 −2.2 National Labour Organisation Previous election General election, October 1931: Kilmarnock National Labour Organisation Craigie Aitchison 21,803 59.6 +4.0 Independent Labour Party John Pollock 14,767 40.4 N/A 7,036 19.2 +3.6 36,580 79.5 +7.8 National Labour Organisation Labour Party (UK) N/A See also Kilmarnock 1946 Kilmarnock by-election List of United Kingdom by-elections (1931–1950) Elections in Scotland References Craig F. W. S. F. W. S. Craig British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 1969 3rd 1983 Parliamentary Research Services Chichester 0-900178-06-X March 2012 Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies Kilmarnock by-election Category:1930s elections in Scotland Kilmarnock by-election Kilmarnock by-election Category:Politics of Kilmarnock