1929 North Lanarkshire by-election

UK parliamentary by-election September 2020 November 2013 June 2025 1929 North Lanarkshire by-election presidential United Kingdom North Lanarkshire (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1920s 1924 North Lanarkshire (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1920s 1929 21 March 1929 Jennie Lee 150px Labour Party (UK) 15,711 57.5% Lord Scone 132px Unionist Party (Scotland) 9,133 33.4% Elizabeth Mitchell 150px Liberal Party (UK) 2,488 9.1% 250px MP Subsequent MP Sir Alexander Sprot Unionist Party (Scotland) Jennie Lee Labour Party (UK) The 1929 North Lanarkshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in the United Kingdom on 21 March 1929 for the House of Commons constituency of North Lanarkshire in Scotland. Vacancy The by-election was caused by the death on 8 February of the constituency's Unionist Member of Parliament, Sir Alexander Sprot, who had gained the seat from Labour at the 1924 general election. History General election, 29 October 1924: North Lanarkshire Unionist Party (Scotland) Alexander Sprot 13,880 53.9 +19.6 Labour Party (UK) Joseph Sullivan 11,852 46.1 -4.4 2,028 7.8 N/A 25,732 79.9 +14.6 Unionist Party (Scotland) Labour Party (UK) +12.0 Candidates The Unionists selected 29-year-old Mungo Murray (later Lord Scone) to defend the seat. He was the son of Lord Mansfield. A graduate of the University of Oxford, he had served in the Black Watch and stood for parliament for the first time. The Labour Party needed to select a new candidate as their last candidate, the former MP, Joseph Sullivan, had been elected at the 1926 Bothwell by-election. Sullivan had been a prominent figure in the Lanarkshire Miners Association and local Labour Party would have liked to have chosen another miners' representative. However, they settled on Jennie Lee, a teacher from Fife and a graduate of Edinburgh University, who stood for parliament for the first time. thumb|120px|Elizabeth Mitchell The local Liberal Association selected 49-year-old Elizabeth Mitchell as their candidate. She had contested Lanark at the 1924 general election, and was the daughter of Andrew Mitchell, a former sheriff of Lanarkshire and a member of Lanarkshire Education Authority.Jennie Lee: A Life By Patricia Hollis She had been educated at St. George's School for Girls, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University, and Oxford University, and taught at the Royal Holloway College, University of London. She was honorary secretary to the Committee on Women in Agriculture in Scotland, convener of Continuation classes at the County of Lanark, and vice-president of the Scottish Liberal Federation.The Liberal Yearbook, 1926 Campaign On 1 March, nationally, Liberal leader, David Lloyd George launched the Liberal programme for the upcoming General Election, titled We Can Conquer Unemployment. Result The Labour Party gained the seat. North Lanarkshire by-election, 1929 Labour Party (UK) Jennie Lee 15,711 57.5 +11.4 Unionist Party (Scotland) Lord Scone 9,133 33.4 -20.5 Liberal Party (UK) Elizabeth Buchanan Mitchell 2,488 9.1 New 6,578 24.1 N/A 27,332 82.3 +2.4 Labour Party (UK) Unionist Party (Scotland) +16.0 Aftermath General election, 30 May 1929: North Lanarkshire Labour Party (UK) Jennie Lee 19,884 55.9 +9.8 Unionist Party (Scotland) Mungo Murray 15,680 44.1 -9.8 4,204 11.8 N/A 35,564 78.6 -1.3 Labour Party (UK) +9.8 References British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1979) Category:1929 elections in the United Kingdom Category:1929 in Scotland Category:1920s elections in Scotland Lanarkshire, North East Category:Lanarkshire