1963 Dundee West by-election

Last updated

The 1963 Dundee West by-election was held on 21 November 1963 due to the death of the incumbent Labour MP John Strachey. It was won by the Labour candidate, Peter Doig.

Contents

Background

Dundee West had been held by the Labour Party since its creation in 1950. In 1959, the Unionist candidate Robert Taylor had reduced the Labour majority to just 714 votes, thereby coming close to a surprise victory. [1] [2] The 43 year-old Dr. Taylor was selected again as the Unionist and National Liberal candidate. The Communist Party selected fifty year-old David Bowman, a local engine driver who had contested the seat at the previous three elections. [2]

On 22 September 1963, local councillor Peter Doig was chosen ahead of five other people to be the Labour Party candidate. Doig, a bakery supervisor, was chairman of the Labour group on Dundee Town Council. He was also deputy chairman of the council and honorary city treasurer of Dundee. [1] The short list of six had been drawn up from a field of at least ten candidates. This included three other Dundee-based aspirants, one of whom was Doig's fellow councillor Bailie James L. Stewart. [2] [3]

The Scottish National Party selected James C. Lees and were reported to have high hopes of achieving a good result following their strong showing in the West Lothian by-election the previous year. [4]

Result

Dundee West by-election, 1963 [5] [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Peter Doig 22,449 50.56 +0.92
Unionist Robert R. Taylor [7] 17,49439.40−8.87
SNP James C. Lees 3,2857.40New
Communist David P. Bowman1,1702.64+0.55
Majority4,95511.16+9.81
Turnout 44,39871.6−11.3
Labour hold Swing

After his victory Doig declared that Sir Alec Douglas-Home's claim of a new chapter following his victory in the recent Kinross and Western Perthshire by-election was now a closed book and predicted the Conservatives’ hopes of holding their seats at the forthcoming St Marylebone and Dumfries contests were in danger. He also called on Home to call a general election. [8]

Related Research Articles

Peter Muir Doig was a British Labour Party politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 United Kingdom local elections</span>

The first elections to the new local authorities established by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales and the new Northern Ireland district councils created by the Local Government Act 1972 took place in 1973. Elections to the existing Greater London Council also took place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1948 Glasgow Camlachie by-election</span> UK by-election

The Glasgow Camlachie by-election was held on Wednesday 28 January 1948, following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Campbell Stephen.

The Kinross and Western Perthshire by-election of 7 November 1963 was a by-election to the House of Commons. It was unique among by-elections since 1918 in that one of the candidates was the sitting prime minister, Alec Douglas-Home; he was nominated for the constituency after disclaiming a peerage, as he felt he needed to be a member of the Commons rather than the House of Lords during his premiership. Douglas-Home won the election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Percy Harris, 1st Baronet</span> British politician (1876–1952)

Sir Percy Alfred Harris, 1st Baronet, PC was a British Liberal Party politician. He was Liberal Chief Whip and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Parliamentary Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 Glasgow Govan by-election</span>

The Glasgow Govan by-election was held on 8 November 1973, following the death of John Rankin, Labour Party Member of Parliament for the Glasgow Govan constituency. Rankin had died one month earlier, on 8 October 1973. Rankin had held the seat since 1955. With the exception of a narrow Conservative victory in 1950, the seat had been solidly Labour-held since 1918. For the by-election the Labour Party nominated Harry Selby, a veteran activist in Glasgow and a former Trotskyist. It was later reported that Selby's selection had been controversial with some Labour members who felt that at the age of 61 he was too old to be starting a parliamentary career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Scottish Parliament election</span>

The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1936 Combined Scottish Universities by-election</span>

The 1936 Combined Scottish Universities by-election was a by-election held from 27 to 31 January 1936 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.

The 1973 Dundee East by-election, in Scotland, was held on 1 March 1973. It was one of three UK parliamentary by-elections held on that day. It was caused by the appointment of George Thomson as a European commissioner. George Machin retained the seat for Labour, but only narrowly. There was a strong showing by the Scottish National Party, which prefigured their serious breakthrough at the Govan by-election later in the year, and the two general elections of 1974.

The 1928 Middlesbrough West by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Middlesbrough West on 7 March 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chic Brodie (politician)</span> Scottish politician (1944–2022)

Charles Gilchrist Brodie, better known as Chic Brodie, was a Scottish politician. He served as a Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region from 2011 until 2016.

The 1958 Argyll by-election of 12 June 1958 was held after the death of Conservative Party MP Duncan McCallum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 Strathclyde Regional Council election</span> Strathclyde Regional Council election

Elections to Strathclyde Regional Council were held on Thursday 6 May 1982, on the same day as the eight other Scottish regional elections. This was the third election to the regional council following the local government reforms in the 1970s.

A 1939 parliamentary by-election was held on 30 March 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire.

The 1908 Dundee by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 9 May 1908 for the constituency of Dundee. The constituency returned two Members of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Midlothian by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 10 September 1912. The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The 1952 Dundee East by-election was held on 17 July 1952, due to the death in a road accident of the incumbent Labour MP, Thomas Cook. It was won by the Labour candidate George Thomson.

The 1940 Argyllshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Argyllshire, on 10 April 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1928 Ilford by-election</span>

The 1928 Ilford by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Ilford, London on 23 February 1928.

The 1926 North Cumberland by-election was held on 17 September 1926. The by-election was held due to the succession to the peerage of the incumbent Conservative MP, Donald Howard. It was won by the Conservative candidate Fergus Graham.

References

  1. 1 2 "Labour Party Choice for By-Election — Dundee City Treasurer". The Glasgow Herald. 23 September 1963. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Communist to Stand at Dundee — No Dearth of Candidates". The Glasgow Herald. 10 August 1963. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  3. "10 Labour Nominees for West Dundee". The Glasgow Herald. 13 September 1963. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  4. "Quiet Weekend for Dr. Taylor — But Opponents Open Fire on White Paper". The Glasgow Herald. 18 November 1963. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  5. The Times, 22 Nov 1963
  6. "1963 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  7. and National Liberal
  8. "Labour Retain Seat at Dundee — Two Lost Deposits in Reduced Poll". The Glasgow Herald. 22 November 1963. Retrieved 23 March 2016.