1919 Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central by-election
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The Aberdeenshire and Kincardine Central by-election was a
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist | Alexander Theodore Gordon | 6,546 | 52.6 | |
Liberal | John Henderson
|
5,908 | 47.4 | ||
Majority | 638 | 5.2 | |||
Turnout | 12,454 | ||||
Unionist win (new seat) | |||||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Political background
According to reports in The Times, popular opinion was swinging against the
Candidates
Coalition
The
Liberal
Henderson further muddied the waters by standing down as Liberal candidate and the local Association turned instead to Major Murdoch McKenzie Wood, a barrister and former Gordon Highlander, who had unsuccessfully fought Ayr Burghs at the 1918 general election.[6] By the time the by-election campaigning was properly under way, the 'coupon', such as it was, had presumably been bestowed on Davidson as he was described in the election literature and the press as the Coalition Unionist or Coalition Conservative candidate.[6]
Labour
The contest was a three-cornered affair, with
The popularity of the Coalition
Duncan's candidacy was expected to complicate the possible outcome of the election by splitting the anti-Coalition vote.[8] In the event, this turned out to be the case but not by quite enough to deliver the seat to the Coalition candidate and Wood was returned to Parliament with a majority of 186 over Davidson. However the combined Liberal and Labour vote amounted to 63.9% of the poll and was clearly a severe blow to the Coalition, coming so soon after their overwhelming success in the 1918 general election and hard on the heels of other by-election defeats in Hull and Leyton West. As was pointed out in The Times, no Coalition seat could be considered safe given the temper of the electorate at the time and the Coalition coupon which had been a talisman for candidates a few short weeks before was turning into a curse.[9]
Result
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Murdoch McKenzie Wood | 4,950 | 37.5 | −9.9 | |
C | Unionist | Leybourne Francis Watson Davidson | 4,764 | 36.1 | -16.5 |
Labour | Joseph Forbes Duncan | 3,482 | 26.4 | New | |
Majority | 186 | 1.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 13,196 | 50.1 | +2.8 | ||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +3.3 | |||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Aftermath
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Murdoch McKenzie Wood | 9,779 | 60.1 | +22.6 | |
Unionist | Robert Smith | 6,481 | 39.9 | +3.8 | |
Majority | 3,298 | 20.2 | +13.6 | ||
Turnout | 16,260 | 56.9 | +6.8 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | +6.8 |
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-900178-06-1.
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 1)
- ^ The Times, 30 December 1918
- ^ a b The Times, London, 8 March 1919
- ISBN 978-1-84275-034-6
- ^ The Times, London, 19 March 1919
- ^ The Times, London, 22 March 1919
- ^ a b The Times, London, 14 April 1919
- ^ The Times, London, 26 March 1919.
- ^ The Times, London, 15 April 1919
- ^ The Times, London, 1 May 1919.
- ^ The Times, 17 November 1922