1941 Dunbartonshire by-election

The 1941 Dunbartonshire by-election was held on 27 February 1941. The by-election was held due to the appointment as sheriff substitute of the incumbent Labour MP, Thomas Cassells. It was won by the Labour candidate Adam McKinlay. ^[1]

Because of the wartime truce his only opponent was Malcolm MacEwen, a Communist, who had a relatively strong vote, possibly because the constituency did include the Vale of Leven, a "little Moscow". It took place before the German invasion of the Soviet Union, when the Communist Party changed its line.

The Scottish National Party had intended to stand a candidate - Robert MacEwen, the brother of Malcolm. However, he was serving in the Army at the time, and was not given permission by the military authorities to stand as a candidate; there was a dispute as to whether he had submitted his request in time and questions were raised in Parliament as to whether it had been delayed. ^{[2] [3]}

Dunbartonshire by-election, 1941 ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Adam McKinlay	21,900	85.0	+36.9
	Communist	Malcolm MacEwen	3,862	15.0	New
Majority			18,038	70.0	+67.6
Turnout			25,762	38.7	−29.9
	Labour hold		Swing

References

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
2. "By-Election Mystery". Daily Herald. 18 February 1941.
3. "Parliamentary Candidature - Oral Questions", Hansard, 25 February 1925
4. Whitaker's Almanack, 1939