Eric Gandar Dower
Eric Leslie Gandar Dower (1894 – 4 October 1987) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician and businessman.
Life
He was educated at
Gandar Dower established
Following
In his victory speech at the declaration, Gandar Dower said, "Don't regard me as a Unionist. I am a member of the National Party until the end of the Japanese war, when you will then have a chance again to put me in or out."[1] After the war ended on 14 August 1945, he did not resign, but pledged to do so "later".[2] On 14 February 1946, he announced that he would shortly be resigning his seat but later withdrew the resignation.[3] On 28 December 1946, he offered to resign in the New Year, citing the marriage of his Private Secretary as a reason, but he withdrew this resignation on 11 February, citing the "rumours and cross-rumours" in the press which had been caused by his announcement, and how they "have been damaging to the Unionist cause."[4] On 30 June 1947, The Times reported, "With the forthcoming fusion of the Caithness and Sutherland Conservative Associations it is certain that there will be no by-election in this constituency. Backed by the unanimous support of both associations, Mr. E.L. Gandar Dower, the Conservative MP for Caithness and Sutherland, will hold his seat probably until the next General Election."[5]
At a 15 September 1948 meeting of his local Conservative Association, Gandar Dower attempted to bring matters to a head by calling on the association to renominate him as the Conservative candidate for a by-election that he now intended to trigger. He was overwhelmingly defeated, with only 8 members voting for him to follow through with this course of action and numerous members expressing their dissatisfaction.[6] In response to this, he declared that he would be standing at the next general election as an Independent, and from 3 October 1948, he withdrew from the Conservative whip.[7] On 12 December 1948, the Caithness and Sutherland Conservatives selected David Robertson to replace Gandar Dower. In the event, Gandar Dower decided not to seek re-election at all, and he retired at the 1950 general election.
Family
Gandar Dower's brother,
References
- ^ The Times, Tuesday, 19 November 1946; p. 5; Issue 50612; col D
- ^ The Times, Monday, 25 February 1946; p. 2; Issue 50385; col C
- ^ The Times, Friday, 15 February 1946; p. 2; Issue 50377; col C
- ^ The Times, Saturday, 28 December 1946; p. 4; Issue 50644; col F ; The Times, Wednesday, 12 February 1947; p. 4; Issue 50683; col E ; The Times, Monday, 17 Feb 1947; p. 5; Issue 50687; col F
- ^ The Times, Monday, 30 June 1947; p. 4; Issue 50800; col D
- ^ The Times, Thursday, 16 Sep 1948; p. 3; Issue 51178; col C
- ^ The Times, Monday, 4 October 1948; p. 5; Issue 51193; col A
- ^ Malies, J. (2004) "Dower, Kenneth Cecil Gandar- (1908–1944)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press