1929 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

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1929 United Kingdom general election
Flag of Scotland.svg
  1924 30 May 1929 1931  

All 74 Scottish seats to the House of Commons
 First partySecond partyThird party
  J. Ramsay MacDonald LCCN2014715885 (cropped).jpg Stanley Baldwin ggbain.35233.jpg David Lloyd George.jpg
Leader Ramsay MacDonald Stanley Baldwin David Lloyd George
Party Labour Unionist Liberal
Leader since22 November 192223 October 192214 October 1926
Seats before26 seats [a] 38 [a] 9 [a]
Seats won36 [a] 22 [a] 14 [a]
Seat changeIncrease2.svg10 [a] Decrease2.svg16 [a] Increase2.svg5 [a]
Popular vote937,300 [b] 792,063 [b] 407,081 [b]
Percentage42.3% [b] 35.9% [b] 18.1% [b]
SwingIncrease2.svg1.2% [b] Decrease2.svg4.8% [b] Increase2.svg1.5% [b]

United Kingdom general election 1929 in Scotland.svg
Results of the 1929 election in Scotland
  Unionist
  Labour
  Liberal

The 1929 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 30 May 1929, and all 74 seats in Scotland were and resulted in a hung parliament. It stands as the fourth of six instances under the secret ballot, and the first of three under universal suffrage, in which a party has lost on the popular vote but won the highest number (known as "a plurality") of seats versus all other parties – others are 1874, January 1910, December 1910, 1951 and February 1974. In 1929, Ramsay MacDonald's Labour Party won the most seats in the House of Commons for the first time. The Liberal Party re-led by ex-Prime Minister David Lloyd George regained some ground lost in the 1924 election and held the balance of power. The Election results in Scotland saw a dramatic swing towards the labour party led by Scottish leader Ramsay MacDonald (Although at the time he represented a seat in London). These results followed a general swing towards Labour at this election. [1]

Contents

Scotland was allocated 74 seats in the House of Commons, with 71 territorial seats (32 burgh constituencies and 38 county constituencies). [c] There was also one university constituency, which elected an additional 3 members using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) method. [2] As voters in university constituencies voted under a different system, and in addition to their territorial vote, the results are compiled separately.

Results

Seats summary

PartySeatsLast ElectionSeats change
  Labour Party 3626Increase2.svg 10
  Unionist 2238Decrease2.svg 16
  Liberal 149Increase2.svg 5
  Scottish Prohibition 11Steady2.svg
 Other10Increase2.svg 1
Total7474

Burgh & County constituencies

PartySeatsSeats changeVotes % % Change
Labour 36Increase2.svg 10937,30042.3Increase2.svg 1.2
Unionist 20Decrease2.svg 16792,06335.9Decrease2.svg 4.8
Liberal 13Increase2.svg 5407,08118.1Increase2.svg 1.5
Communist 0-27,1141.1Increase2.svg 0.4
Scottish Prohibition 1-25,0371.1
National Party of Scotland 0-3,3130.2New
Other1Increase2.svg 151,0331.3
Total712,242,941100

University constituency

The Combined Scottish Universities elected an additional 3 members to the house using the STV voting method.

General election 1929: Combined Scottish Universities (3 seats) [3]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12
Unionist John Buchan 39.79,959 
Liberal Dugald Cowan 26.76,698 
Unionist George Berry 22.95,7559,262
Labour James Kerr (Scottish doctor)10.72,6912,867
Electorate: 43,192  Valid: 25,103  Quota: 6,276  Turnout: 25,103  


    Votes summary

    Popular vote [b]
    Labour
    42.3%
    Unionist
    35.9%
    Liberal
    18.1%
    Communist
    1.1%
    Scottish Prohibition
    1.1%
    NPS
    0.2%
    Other
    1.3%
    Parliament seats [a]
    Labour
    36 seats
    Unionist
    22 seats
    Liberal
    14 seats
    Scottish Prohibition
    1 seat
    ILP
    1 seats

    Notes

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Combined results for burgh, county and university seats
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total and percentage votes given here are for territorial constituencies only
    3. One burgh seat, Dundee, was represented by two members of parliament.

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    References

    1. William Kenefick (2007). Red Scotland!: The Rise and Fall of the Radical Left, C. 1872–1932. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 202–203. ISBN   978-0-7486-2517-8.
    2. "Research Briefing: Voting systems in the UK". Library of the House of Commons. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
    3. The Times, 11 June 1929