1954 Motherwell by-election

UK parliamentary by-election September 2017 September 2017 The 1954 Motherwell by-election was held on 14 April 1954. It was held due to the death of the incumbent Labour MP, Alexander Anderson. It was retained by the Labour candidate, George Lawson. Background Alexander Anderson was born in April 1888 and had represented Motherwell since the general election of 1945.The Times House of Commons 1951 1951 The Times Office London 202 According to the London correspondent for The Glasgow Herald, Anderson had visibly been in failing health during his final session in parliament. He had collapsed in the House of Commons shortly before his death, but he had insisted on remaining at Westminster so that he could participate in a session of the Scottish Grand Committee scheduled to be held on the morning of 12 February. However he died the previous day.London Correspondence. A model parliamentarian https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19540212&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 14 May 2021 The Glasgow Herald 12 February 1954 6 For the by-election, Labour chose George Lawson, who was the secretary of Edinburgh Trades Council.The Times House of Commons 1955 1955 The Times Office London 226 Lawson had previously been West of Scotland organiser of Labour Colleges and was a member of the Scottish Advisory Committee of the Labour Party.Motherwell held by Labour. Majority of 5829 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19540415&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 16 May 2021 The Glasgow Herald 15 April 1954 7 Norman Sloan, an advocate, who had been Anderson's only opponent in 1951 again stood as a Conservative and National Liberal. At his final election meeting on the eve of the poll, Sloan was supported by Lord Home.Staff reporter Motherwell By-Election. Electors take notice. Mr Sloan Heckled https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19540413&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 15 May 2021 The Glasgow Herald 13 April 1954 5 Result Motherwell by-election, 1954http://by-elections.co.uk/54.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120204032418/http://by-elections.co.uk/54.html 1954 By Election Results 2012-02-04 dead 2015-08-14 Labour Party (UK) George Lawson 19,163 56.4 -0.9 Conservative and National Liberal Norman Sloan 13,334 39.3 -3.5 Communist Party of Great Britain John Gollan 1,457 4.3 New 5,829 17.1 +2.6 33,954 Labour Party (UK) Aftermath Labour held the seat, with a slightly reduced share of the vote, while Sloan's vote declined by over 3%. The Communist candidate picked up just over 4% of the votes cast. The victorious Lawson said that he had fought the election on the issues of rising food prices and "the increasing threat of unemployment, particularly in Scotland and especially in this area", the "callous disregard" for pensioners and people on low incomes and "the failure of private enterprise" to enable British industry to compete with its competitors. References Motherwell by-election Motherwell by-election Motherwell by-election Category:Motherwell Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies