1945 Motherwell by-election

1945 Motherwell by-election

12 April 1945
Motherwellconstituency
First party Second party Candidate Robert McIntyre Alexander Anderson Party SNP Labour Popular vote 11,417 10,800 Percentage 51.4% 48.6% Swing 51.4% 2.1%
Map showing theMotherwellParliamentary constituency withinScotland.
MP before election James Walker Labour Subsequent MP Robert McIntyre SNP

TheMotherwell by-electionwas held on 12 April 1945, following the death ofLabour PartyMember of Parliament(MP) forMotherwell,James Walker.

The by-election took place during theSecond World Warduring unusual political conditions. No general election had been held since1935,at which James Walker narrowly gained the seat for Labour from theUnionist Party.

There was a truce between the major parties: Labour, theConservative Party,Liberal Partyand theNational Liberal Party.TheCommunist Party of Great Britain,which had held Motherwell in the past, also undertook to abide by the truce. As a result, the only opposition in by-elections came fromindependents,minor parties and occasional unofficial party candidates aligned with major parties.

For the by-election, the Labour Party stoodAlexander Anderson.His only opposition came from theScottish National Party(SNP), then a small party advocatingScottish independence,who stood Party SecretaryRobert McIntyre.

Results

The election was won by McIntyre, who became the firstSNP Member of Parliament.However, Anderson regained the seat from McIntyre at the1945 general electiona few months later.

1945Motherwellby-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Robert McIntyre	11,417	51.4	New
	Labour	Alexander Anderson	10,800	48.6	−2.1
Majority			617	2.8	N/A
Turnout			22,217	54.0	−21.9
	SNPgainfromLabour		Swing	N/A

See also

• List of United Kingdom by-elections (1931–1950)

References

• Dick Douglas,At the Helm: The Life & Times of Dr. Robert D McIntyre