1936 Combined Scottish Universities by-election

UK Parliamentary by-election March 2023 1936 Combined Scottish Universities by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Combined Scottish Universities constituency no 1935 United Kingdom general election 1935 1938 Combined Scottish Universities by-election 1938 27–31 January 1936 Ramsay MacDonald x160px National Labour Organisation 16,393 56.5% grey N/A Andrew Dewar Gibb 3x4.svg Scottish National Party 9,034 31.1% 16.9% David Cleghorn Thomson 3x4.svg Labour Party (UK) 3,597 12.4% grey N/A MP Noel Skelton Unionist Party (Scotland) Ramsay MacDonald National Labour Organisation 54.8% (3.6%)The 1936 Combined Scottish Universities by-election was a by-election held from 27 to 31 January 1936 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons. Vacancy The seat had become vacant when the Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) Noel Skelton had died at the age of 55 on 22 November 1935, 3 days before being returned posthumously at the 1935 general election. A lawyer, journalist and Conservative intellectual, he had held the seat since being elected unopposed at the 1931 general election. Candidates The Unionists and their Conservative allies were the dominant group in the National Government, whose parties did not usually stand candidates against each other. A by-election in a Unionist-held seat would therefore normally have been contested by a Unionist candidate, but in this case there was a need to find a seat for Ramsay MacDonald of National Labour, who had been defeated in his Seaham constituency at the 1935 general election. He had led the National Government from 1931 to 1935 and remained Lord President of the Council, so the other government parties agreed that he should contest this by-election, the first since the general election. The Labour Party, which formed the official opposition at Westminster, fielded David Cleghorn Thomson. As a Liberal candidate, Thomson had contested Willesden West in 1923 and Edinburgh South in 1924. After joining Labour, he stood as the Labour candidate in Leith in 1935. The third candidate was Andrew Dewar Gibb, of the Scottish National Party. Gibb, who was Regius Professor of Law at Glasgow University, had also contested the seat in the 1935 general election. Result The result was a clear victory for MacDonald, who won over 56% of the votes.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qp9AAAAAIBAJ&pg=2220%2C5224724 Ex-Premier returned to Parliament. 7359 Majority in Universities By-election The Herald Glasgow 4 February 1936 9 19 March 2017 However his physical and mental health collapsed later in the year, exacerbated by the death of King George V a week before polling; a sea voyage was recommended to restore his health, and he died at sea in November 1937, triggering another by-election. Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 27–31 January 1936 National Labour Organisation Ramsay MacDonald 16,393 56.5 New Scottish National Party Andrew Dewar Gibb 9,034 31.1 +16.9 Labour Party (UK) David Cleghorn Thomson 3,597 12.4 New 7,359 37.4 N/A 29,024 54.8 +3.6 National Labour Organisation Unionist Party (Scotland) N/A See also Combined Scottish Universities (UK Parliament constituency) 1927 Combined Scottish Universities by-election 1934 Combined Scottish Universities by-election 1935 Combined Scottish Universities by-election 1938 Combined Scottish Universities by-election 1945 Combined Scottish Universities by-election 1946 Combined Scottish Universities by-election List of United Kingdom by-elections (1931–1950) References Sources 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 December 2010 Category:1936 in Scotland Category:1930s elections in Scotland Category:1936 elections in the United Kingdom Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the Combined Scottish Universities Category:Ramsay MacDonald