On Thursday 14 November 1935, the 1935 United Kingdom general election was held in Scotland, to elect all 615 members of the House of Commons, with 74 seats being in Scotland. 71 seats (32 burgh constituencies and 38 county constituencies) represented territorial constituencies. There was also one university constituency, which elected an additional 3 members using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) method.

When combined with results from across the United Kingdom, the election resulted in a second landslide victory for the three-party National Government, which was led by Stanley Baldwin of the Conservative Party after the resignation of Ramsay MacDonald due to ill health earlier in the year. It is the most recent general election in United Kingdom to have seen any party or alliance of parties win a majority of the popular vote. This election marked the tradition for general elections to be held on a Thursday, and every general election since has been held on this day.

This was also the last election during the reign of King George V, who died in 1936. Due to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the next general election was not held until 1945.

Candidates

Below is a table summarising the candidates of the 1935 general election in Scotland, excluding those in the Combined Scottish Universities constituency.

Affiliation CandidatesLabour Party 69Unionist Party 58Scottish Liberal Party 16Independent Labour Party 11Liberal National Party 9Scottish National Party 7Communist Party of Great Britain 1National Labour Organisation 1National 1Total 167

Analysis

National Government

In Scotland, the three parties forming the National Government collectively lost seats, predominantly to the Labour Party. The coalition, however, maintained its dominance in terms of seats at the election, holding a total of 46 collectively.

The Unionist Party, which was nationally affiliated with the Conservative Party, 15 seats in the election, 13 of which were won by Labour. However, the Unionists gained Orkney and Shetland, Banff from the Scottish Liberal Party, which had left the National Government coalition progressively throughout 1932 and 1933. Overall, the Unionists stood at 37 seats, including maintaining its two seats in the Combined Scottish Universities constituency, maintaining its position as the largest party by seats overall and within the National Government in Scotland.

The Liberal National Party contested nine seats at the election, where it had contested and won eight in 1931. The Liberal Nationals lost Dunfermline Burghs and Western Isles to the Labour Party. However, it gained Dumfriesshire from the Liberal Party, standing in the seat for the first time. Henry Fildes won the seat unopposed by the Liberal Party. The Liberal Nationals also won a seat in the Combined Scottish Universities constituency from the Liberal Party, where the Liberals again did not stand a candidate. Overall, the Liberal National seat count remained unchanged, although its vote share increased slightly.

Additionally, National Labour, also within the National Government, maintained its seat of Kilmarnock. Candidate Kenneth Lindsay won the seat, with the previous National Labour MP, Craigie Aitchison, retiring from Parliament.

Liberals

Due to the policy caused by the government negotiating the Ottawa Accords, the Scottish Liberal Party left the National Government in 1932. The party then went from supporting the National Government to going into full opposition in 1933. Nevertheless, the party suffered losses to the Unionists and Liberal National Party. However, the Liberals also lost Edinburgh East to the Labour Party. Overall, the Liberals were reduced to three seats, having lost a total of five in Scotland.

Labour and Independent Labour

The Labour Party had recovered significantly from its loss in Scotland and across the United Kingdom at this election. In Scotland, David Kirkwood, who had previously been elected at the last election sponsored by the Constituency Labour Party but without Labour endorsement, had re-contested and won his seat of Dumbarton Burghs as the official Labour candidate. This represented a gain for Labour. In addition to winning Edinburgh East from the Liberal Party and two seats from two from the Liberal National Party, it also won Aberdeen North, Stirling and Falkirk, Clackmannan and Eastern Stirlingshire, Stirlingshire West, Kirkcaldy Burghs, Maryhill, Motherwell, Bothwell, Coatbridge, Springburn, Tradeston, Ayrshire South and Linlithgow from the Conservatives. As such, the Labour Party gained 16 seats compared to the last election from its previous seven. It, however, lost three seats from sitting Independent Labour Party MPs as wells as another previously unendorsed Labour candidates. It held a total of 20 seats in Scotland following this election.

Independent Labour Party winning four Scottish seats in its first outing as a standalone party. Previously affiliated to Labour, it had since the previous election been increasingly moved apart from them, ultimately dissociating from the party in March 1932. The ILP had dominated the Labour movement in Scotland since 1918, dominating community based activism, and essentially forming the Labour Party in Scotland. This had ultimately served to undermine the organisational growth of the Labour Party in Scotland.

The Independent Labour Party had previously held two seats at the election, when it was still affiliated of the Labour Party. These were James Maxton in Glasgow Bridgeton and John McGovern in Glasgow Shettleston re-contested and won their seats, standing as candidates for the party and not endorsed by the Labour party at the election. Additionally, George Buchanan, who had won Glasgow Gorbals in the last election under the sponsored by the Constituency Labour Party though also a member of the Independent Labour party, won his seat again at this election but as a candidate for the Independent Labour Party at this election. these three represented a gain from the such candidates in favour of the Independent Labour Party from the Labour Party at this election. Lastly, Campbell Stephen, who had unsuccessfully contended Glasgow Camlachie in 1931, won the seat as an Independent Labour Party candidate at this election from the Unionist Party.

Minor Parties

Finally, the Communist Party gained its first seat in ten years. Willie Gallacher, the only communist candidate in Scotland in this election and only one of two throughout the United Kingdom in 1935, won West Fife after having contesting it in the previous two elections. The win was from the Unionist Party.

The election was the first general election to be contested by the Scottish National Party, which had been a continuation of a merger between the National Party of Scotland (which had contested in previous elections, including in 1931) and the Scottish Party. Although its overall vote share increased when compared to the National Party of Scotland in the previous election, it did not win any seats.

Seat summary

Below is a table summarising the total number of seats, gains and losses for each party in both the territorial county and burgh constituencies and the Combined Scottish Universities constituency.

+PartySeats Total Gains Losses Net Of total (%)   National Government (Total) 46 4 17 13 62.2 37 2 15 13 50.0   Liberal National 8 2 2 10.8 1 0 0 1.4 0 colspan="3" —   Labour 20 16 3 13 27.0   Ind. Labour Party 4 colspan="2" 4 5.4   Liberal 3 0 5 5 4.1   Communist 1 1 0 1 1.4 Total 74

County and burgh constituency results

Below is a table summarising the constituency results of the 1935 general election in Scotland, excluding the result in the Combined Scottish Universities constituency.

The seat and vote share change for the National Government coalition reflects on the parties that remained part of it in the election, and does not include the Liberal Party's change in seats and vote share or the outcome of the party leaving the National Government in 1932 and going into complete opposition in 1933.

+PartySeatsAggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of total (%) Total Of total (%) Change (%)   National Government (Total) 43 3 17 14 60.6 1,135,403 49.8 5.6 35 2 15 13 49.3 962,595 42.0 7.5   Liberal National 7 1 2 1 9.9 149,072 6.7 1.8 1 0 0 1.4 19,115 0.9 0.1   National 0 colspan="3" — 4,621 0.2   Labour 20 16 3 13 28.2 863,789 36.8 4.2   Liberal 3 0 4 4 4.2 174,235 6.7 1.9   Ind. Labour Party 4 colspan="2" 4 5.4 111,256 5.0   SNP 0 0 0 — 25,652 1.1 0.1   Communist 1 1 0 1 1.4 13,462 0.6 1.0 Total 71 0 100.0 2,323,797 100.0 0.0 Registered voters, and turnout 3,115,917 72.6 4.8

Votes summary

Parliament seats

Combined Scottish Universities result The Combined Scottish Universities elected an additional 3 members to the house using the STV voting method. Note that there was no election in 1931 as only three candidates stood for election. PartySeatsFirst Preference Votes Total Gains Losses Net Total Of all (%) Difference   National Government (Total) 3 1 0 1 23,260 85.8   Unionist 2 0 0 15,731 58.0   Liberal National 1 1 0 1 7,529 27.8   SNP 0 colspan="3" 3,865 14.3   Liberal 0 0 1 1 0 0.0 Total 3 27,125

Notes

See also 1935 United Kingdom general election in England 1935 United Kingdom general election in Wales 1935 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

References