1931 Rutherglen by-election facts for kids
The 1931 Rutherglen by-election was a special election held in the Rutherglen area of Scotland. It happened on May 21, 1931. A by-election takes place when a Member of Parliament (MP) leaves their job, usually because they have passed away or resigned. In this case, the by-election was needed because the Labour MP, William Wright, had died.
The election was won by the Labour candidate, David Hardie.
Contents
What is a By-Election?
A by-election is like a mini-election that happens in just one part of the country. It's held when a seat in Parliament becomes empty between general elections. This allows people in that area to choose a new representative quickly.
Rutherglen's Political History
Before this by-election, Rutherglen was represented by William Wright from the Labour Party. He had been the MP since 1922. In the 1929 general election, he won by a large number of votes, more than 5,000 ahead of the Unionist Party candidate. This was a much bigger win than in 1924.
In the 1929 election, other parties also tried to win the Rutherglen seat. These included the Liberal Party and the Communist Party of Great Britain. However, they didn't get many votes.
The Candidates
The Labour Party chose David Hardie as their candidate. David was from a famous political family. He was the brother of Keir Hardie, who helped start the Labour Party. His other brother, George Hardie, was also an MP at the time.
David Hardie's only opponent was Captain H. J. Moss from the Unionist Party. Captain Moss focused his campaign on helping British industries. He called this "the prosperity policy of safeguarding British industries."
Election Results
The by-election was a close contest between David Hardie and Captain Moss.
| Rutherglen by-election, 1931 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | David Hardie | 16,736 | 51.4 | −0.8 | |
| Unionist | Herbert Moss | 15,853 | 48.6 | +12.1 | |
| Majority | 883 | 2.8 | −12.9 | ||
| Turnout | 32,589 | 69.6 | −6.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 46,804 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | −5.7 | |||
What Happened Next
Even though David Hardie won and kept the seat for the Labour Party, their lead was much smaller than before. Just a few months later, in the general election, David Hardie and Captain Moss faced each other again. This time, Captain Moss won the Rutherglen seat with a lead of over 5,000 votes.
