The Linlithgowshire by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 7 November 1913.[1] 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.
Alexander Ure had been Liberal Member of Parliament for Linlithgowshire since 1895. In 1913 he was raised to the bench as Lord Strathclyde and appointed Lord Justice General.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Alexander Ure | 5,835 | 60.8 | -3.8 | |
Unionist | James Kidd | 3,765 | 39.2 | +3.8 | |
Majority | 2,070 | 21.6 | -7.6 | ||
Turnout | 9,600 | 81.1 | -3.5 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | -3.8 |
Some 2,000 Irish electors lived in the constituency and they were expected to heavily support the Liberal candidate. Local branches of the Independent Labour Party asked local electors to vote for the Unionist Party candidate.[4]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | John Pratt | 5,615 | 52.4 | -8.4 | |
Unionist | James Kidd | 5,094 | 47.6 | +8.4 | |
Majority | 521 | 4.8 | -16.8 | ||
Turnout | 10,709 | 87.8 | +6.7 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | -8.4 |
A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.
For the 1918 elections, Pratt moved to contest Glasgow Cathcart.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist | James Kidd | 12,898 | 59.7 | +20.5 |
Labour | Manny Shinwell | 8,723 | 40.3 | New | |
Majority | 4,175 | 19.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 21,621 | 66.4 | -14.7 | ||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | ||||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |