Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1934
Encyclopedia
The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1934 was a by-election
held from 7 March to 12 March 1934 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency
of the British House of Commons
.
Member of Parliament
(MP) Dugald Cowan
had died, aged 68. He had held the seat since its creation for the 1918 general election
.
candidate was Dr George Alexander Morrison
.
The other candidate was Robert Gibson of the Labour Party
, who had unsuccessfully contested Roxburgh and Selkirk
in 1929
and Edinburgh North
in 1931
.
in 1935 and held the seat until his resignation in 1945, triggering another by-election
.
Gibson unsuccessfully contested Dundee
at the 1935 general election
, and was elected as MP for Greenock
at a by-election in 1936
.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held from 7 March to 12 March 1934 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency
University constituency
A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents a university rather than a geographical area. University constituencies may involve plural voting, in which eligible voters are permitted to vote in both a university constituency and a geographical...
of the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant on 30 December 1933 when the LiberalLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) Dugald Cowan
Dugald Cowan
Dugald McCoig Cowan was a Scottish educationalist and Liberal politician.-Family and education:Cowan was born in Maryhill, Glasgow the son of John and Christina Cowan. He was educated at Glasgow Free Church Training College and Glasgow University. He held MA and LL.B degrees. He never married...
had died, aged 68. He had held the seat since its creation for the 1918 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
.
Candidates
Two candidates contested the by-election. The Liberal PartyLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
candidate was Dr George Alexander Morrison
George Alexander Morrison
George Alexander Morrison was a Scottish Liberal Party and then National Liberal Party politician....
.
The other candidate was Robert Gibson of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, who had unsuccessfully contested Roxburgh and Selkirk
Roxburgh and Selkirk (UK Parliament constituency)
Roxburgh and Selkirk was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1955. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system.- Boundaries :...
in 1929
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
and Edinburgh North
Edinburgh North (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh North was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system.-Boundaries:...
in 1931
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
.
Result
The result was a clear victory for Morrison, who won nearly 80% of the votes. He joined the National Liberal PartyNational Liberal Party (UK, 1931)
The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...
in 1935 and held the seat until his resignation in 1945, triggering another by-election
Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1945
The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1945 was a by-election held from 9 April to 13 April 1945 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
.
Gibson unsuccessfully contested Dundee
Dundee (UK Parliament constituency)
Dundee was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1950, when it was split into Dundee East and Dundee West....
at the 1935 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
, and was elected as MP for Greenock
Greenock (UK Parliament constituency)
Greenock was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1974, when it was abolished and its area was merged into the new Greenock and Port Glasgow constituency.- Members of Parliament :...
at a by-election in 1936
Greenock by-election, 1936
The Greenock by-election, 1936 was a by-election held on 26 November 1936 for the House of Commons constituency of Greenock in Renfrewshire, Scotland.- Vacancy :...
.
Votes
See also
- Combined Scottish Universities (UK Parliament constituency)
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1927Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1927The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1927 was a by-election held from 26 April to 29 April 1927 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1935Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1935The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1935 was a by-election held from 17 June to 22 June 1935 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936 was a by-election held from 27 January to 31 January 1936 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1938Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1938The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1938 was a by-election held from 21 February to 25 February 1938 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1945Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1945The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1945 was a by-election held from 9 April to 13 April 1945 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1946Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1946The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1946 was a by-election held from 22 November to 27 November 1946 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons....
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1918–1931)