The 1935 Perth by-election was held on 16 April 1935. The by-election was held due to the succession to the peerage of the incumbent Unionist MP, Mungo Murray, Lord Scone. It was won by the Liberal National candidate Francis Norie-Miller. [1]
Norie-Miller contested Perth as a Liberal at the 1931 general election. The Liberal Party, led by Sir Herbert Samuel had agreed to support the National Government of Ramsay MacDonald at the 1931 general election, with some reservations over the traditional Liberal policy of free trade and Norie-Miller fought the election publicly supporting the government . However the Conservatives also supported the National Government and neither party therefore had a clear advantage with the electorate in terms of identification with the National Government.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Mungo Murray | 19,254 | 50.2 | ||
Liberal | Francis Norie-Miller | 15,396 | 40.1 | ||
Labour | Helen Gault | 3,705 | 9.7 | ||
Majority | 3,858 | 10.1 | |||
Turnout | 38,355 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Norie-Miller then stood down as prospective Liberal candidate for Perth and in 1934 the local Liberal Association selected James Scott, the former Liberal MP for Kincardine and Aberdeenshire West as their new representative. In 1935, when Lord Scone succeeded his father as Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield and went to the House of Lords, a by-election was called for Perth. However, instead of adopting James Scott as their Parliamentary candidate, the Perth Liberals invited Norie-Miller to fight the election as they learned that Perth Conservatives were willing not to oppose him at the by-election providing he stood as a National candidate. [3] Scott was known as a strong supporter of Free Trade [4] whereas Norie-Miller favoured tariffs and protectionism. [5] In a straight fight with the Labour candidate the former MP Adam McKinley, Norie-Miller won the by-election on 16 April 1935 by a majority of 9,532.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Francis Norie-Miller | 17,516 | 68.7 | N/A | |
Labour | Adam McKinlay | 7,984 | 31.3 | +21.6 | |
Majority | 9,532 | 37.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 25,410 | ||||
National Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | ||||
Norie-Miller decided not to contest the 1935 general election in November that year.
The National Labour Organisation, also known as the National Labour Committee or simply as National Labour, was a British political group formed after the 1931 creation of the National Government to co-ordinate the efforts of the supporters of the government who had come from the Labour Party. The party leaders were Ramsay MacDonald (1931–1937) and his son Malcolm MacDonald (1937–1945).
At the 1931 general election, a small group of official Liberal candidates led by former Liberal Party leader, David Lloyd George, and mostly related to him, stood on a platform of opposition to the National Government and were sometimes referred to as Independent Liberals.
Wednesbury was a borough constituency in England's Black Country which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.
James Scott was a Scottish lawyer and Liberal Party politician.
Parliamentary by-elections in the United Kingdom occur when a Member of Parliament (MP) vacates a House of Commons seat during the course of a parliament.
Thomas Bridgehill Wilson Ramsay was a Scottish Liberal Party, and National Liberal Party politician and Member of Parliament (MP).
The 1933 Altrincham by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 14 June 1933 for the British House of Commons constituency of Altrincham in Cheshire.
Mungo David Malcolm Murray, 7th Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield, styled Lord Scone from 1906 to 1935, was a Scottish Unionist Party politician.
Sir Francis Norie-Miller, 1st Baronet was a British insurance company manager director. He was also a Liberal and later Liberal National politician. Although he was born in England, his chief associations were with Scotland and in particular the city of Perth. In 1936, he was created a Baronet with the title of Norie-Miller of Cleeve in the New Year's Honours List for political and public service in the County of Perth and for his local philanthropy.
Ernest James Young was a Liberal politician. He was a Councillor in Portslade and Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough East for one term in the 1930s. He was the first Headmaster of Harrow County School for Boys, Harrow, Middlesex from 1911 to 1919.
Edward Anthony Strauss was an English corn, grain and hop merchant of German-Jewish background. He was a Liberal, later Liberal National Member of Parliament.
Sir Sydney Walter John Robinson JP was an English farmer, building contractor and Liberal politician.
Nevil Alexander Beechman was a British barrister and Liberal politician who was Liberal National MP for St Ives from a 1937 by-election until 1950.
Thomas Atholl Robertson was a Scottish fine arts printer and publisher and Liberal politician.
Herbert Willison was an English solicitor and Liberal Party, later Liberal National politician.
The 1902 Leeds North by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the House of Commons constituency of Leeds North in the West Riding of Yorkshire on 29 July 1902.
Henry George Purchase was an English barrister and Liberal politician.
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. It broke away from the Liberal Party, and later co-operated and merged with the Conservative Party.
The 1939 Batley and Morley by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in the United Kingdom on 9 March 1939 for the House of Commons constituency of Batley and Morley in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The 1937 St Ives by-election was a by-election held in England on 30 June 1937 for the House of Commons constituency of St Ives in Cornwall.