1936 Edinburgh Corporation election

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Map showing election results by ward Edinburgh Corporation election, 1936.svg
Map showing election results by ward

An Election to the Edinburgh Corporation was held on 3 November 1936, alongside municipal elections across Scotland. The election took place midst an increasingly sectarian political climate, with hardline Protestant and anti-Catholic political parties being on the rise in Glasgow and Edinburgh in the 1930s. The Protestant Action Society (PAS); Edinburgh's far-right Protestant grouping which had inspired a sectarian riot the previous year, won 31% of the vote and got 5 new members elected. [1] The PAS had won 24% in the previous years election. [2]

Contents

In Glasgow in 1933 a similarly strong showing by that city's insurgent Protestant party had split the Moderate vote, allowing in a Labour council for the first time in Glasgow's history. In contrast, despite the PAS's strong showing in Edinburgh, the dominant Progressives enjoyed such overwhelming majority over Labour that the PAS could hardly dent it. Labour, in turn, were relegated to third place. [3]

Edinburgh Corporation at the time was made up of 71 members, of whom 69 were elected. Following the election the Corporation was composed of 46 Progressives/Moderates, 15 Labour, 8 Protestant Action, and 2 independents. [4]

Turnout was 111,841, or 49.3%. [4]

Aggregate results

Edinburgh Corporation election, 1936 [4]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Progressives 14039.15%43,788
  Labour 512Decrease2.svg129.25%32,709
  Protestant Action 550Increase2.svg526.64%29,797
  Independent 220Increase2.svg24.21%4,704
 Tenants' Association0.43%479
  Ind. Labour Party 0.20%222
  Revolutionary Socialists 0.10%115
  B.S.I.S.L.P. 0.02%27

Ward results

Broughton
1 seat
Electorate: 10,783 [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Protestant Action George Ballantine2601
Progressives James Gorman (incumbent)2238
Majority363
Turnout 44.87
Protestant Action gain from Progressives Swing
Canongate
2 seats
Electorate: 10,343 [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Esta Henry 279325.27
Protestant Action James Leitch250322.64
Labour John Gibson215019.45
Progressives Alexander Thomson (incumbent)191817.35
Labour Alexander H. Paton146813.28
Ind. Labour Party James H. Moore2222.01
Majority
Turnout 5,52753.92
Independent gain from Progressives Swing
Protestant Action gain from Labour Swing
Dalry
1 seat
Electorate: 10,783 [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Mrs Mary Graham (incumbent)2817
Protestant ProgressiveJames Graham2522
Majority295
Turnout 50.26
Labour hold Swing
Haymarket
1 seat
Electorate: 11,527 [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Progressives Ian A Johnson Gilbert3659
Tenants' AssociationMrs Freds. M. Gembles479
Majority3180
Turnout 36.88
Progressives hold Swing
South Leith
Electorate: 15,996 [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Protestant Action James C. Trainer4825
Progressives George Mackie2486
Labour William D. Mitchell1495
Revolutionary Socialists Thomas Tait115
B.S.I.S.L.P. Robert Gillespie27
Majority2139
Turnout 54.05
Protestant Action gain from Progressives Swing

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References

  1. Paul, Freston (2004). Protestant Political Parties: A Global Survey. Ashgate. p. 51. ISBN   9780754640622.
  2. Bowd, Gavin (7 April 2013). "Gavin Bowd reveals some uncomfortable truths in Fascist Scotland". The Scotsman . Archived from the original on 7 April 2015.
  3. Smyth, James J. "Resisting labour: Unionists, Liberals, and Moderates in Glasgow Between the Wars" (PDF). The Historical Journal. Cambridge University Press: 397. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Scottish Municipal Elections". The Glasgow Herald. 4 November 1936. p. 14.