Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1935
Encyclopedia
The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1935 was a by-election
held from 17 June to 22 June 1935 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency
of the British House of Commons
.
(MP), John Buchan had resigned
his seat when he was appointed as Governor General of Canada
. He had held the seat since a by-election in April 1927
.
, Regius Professor of Zoology
at the University of Glasgow
. The Labour Party
candidate was the novelist and poet Naomi Mitchison
. There was no Liberal Party
candidate.
Neither Kerr nor Mitchison had previously contested a parliamentary election.
.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held from 17 June to 22 June 1935 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency
University constituency
A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents a university rather than a geographical area. University constituencies may involve plural voting, in which eligible voters are permitted to vote in both a university constituency and a geographical...
of the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the sitting Unionist Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP), John Buchan had resigned
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
his seat when he was appointed as Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
. He had held the seat since a by-election in April 1927
Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1927
The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1927 was a by-election held from 26 April to 29 April 1927 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
.
Candidates
The Unionist candidate was 55-year-old John Graham KerrJohn Graham Kerr
Sir John Graham Kerr was a Scottish embryologist and Unionist Member of Parliament . He is best known for his studies of the embryology of lungfishes.Born in Hertfordshire to Scottish parents, Kerr was educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, and at the University of Edinburgh, but...
, Regius Professor of Zoology
Regius Professor of Zoology, Glasgow
The Regius Chair of Zoology is a Regius Professorship at the University of Glasgow. It was founded in 1807 by King George III of Great Britain as the Regius Chair of Natural History...
at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
. The Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate was the novelist and poet Naomi Mitchison
Naomi Mitchison
Naomi May Margaret Mitchison, CBE was a Scottish novelist and poet. She was appointed CBE in 1981; she was also entitled to call herself Lady Mitchison, CBE since 5 October 1964 .- Childhood and family background :Naomi Margaret Haldane was...
. There was no Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
candidate.
Neither Kerr nor Mitchison had previously contested a parliamentary election.
Result
The result was a victory for the Unionist candidate, Prof. Kerr, who won over 80% of the votes. He resigned his university chair, held the seat until the university constituencies were abolished for the 1950 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
.
Votes
See also
- Combined Scottish Universities (UK Parliament constituency)
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1927Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1927The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1927 was a by-election held from 26 April to 29 April 1927 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1934Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1934The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1934 was a by-election held from 7 March to 12 March 1934 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936 was a by-election held from 27 January to 31 January 1936 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1938Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1938The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1938 was a by-election held from 21 February to 25 February 1938 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1945Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1945The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1945 was a by-election held from 9 April to 13 April 1945 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...
- Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1946Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1946The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1946 was a by-election held from 22 November to 27 November 1946 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons....
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1931–1950)