1940 Argyllshire by-election facts for kids

The 1940 Argyllshire by-election was a special election held on 10 April 1940. It was for a seat in the British House of Commons, which is part of the UK Parliament. The area involved was called Argyllshire.

Why Was There a By-Election?

A by-election happens when a seat in Parliament becomes empty between general elections. In this case, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Argyllshire, Frederick Alexander Macquisten, sadly passed away on 29 February 1940. He was 69 years old. Macquisten was a member of the Unionist Party and had been the MP for Argyllshire since 1924.

Past Elections in Argyllshire

The Argyllshire area had been won by the Unionist Party in every election since 1924. However, it was often a close race, especially with the Liberal Party always trying hard to win.

At the last big election in 1935, the results were:

Who Were the Candidates?

• The local Unionist Party had already chosen a new candidate, Duncan McCallum, in August 1939. He was 52 years old and worked for the British government in countries like Bulgaria and Egypt.
• The local Liberal Party had picked John Bannerman in 1938. He was 37 and a former Scottish Rugby Union player. Bannerman cared a lot about people in the Scottish Highlands and islands, especially about jobs and people moving away.
• The Labour Party hadn't run in this area since 1929. But in January 1939, they chose A. MacNeill Weir as their candidate.

When World War II started, the main political parties (Conservative, Liberal, and Labour) made an agreement. They decided not to run against each other in by-elections. This meant that if a seat became empty, the party that already held it would not face official challengers from the other two big parties.

The Liberals tried to convince the Unionists to support their candidate, John Bannerman, instead of their own. But this didn't happen because the Liberal Party was not supporting the government at the time. So, both John Bannerman and A. MacNeill Weir decided not to run in the by-election.

However, a smaller party, the Scottish National Party (SNP), decided to join the race. On 12 March, they chose 66-year-old William Power from Glasgow as their candidate.

The Election Campaign

The election day was set for 10 April 1940. When all the candidates were confirmed, it was a race between just two people: Duncan McCallum for the Unionists and William Power for the Scottish Nationalists.

Duncan McCallum was in Egypt when the previous MP died. He didn't return to Scotland until after his first campaign meeting on 26 March 1940. This was more than two weeks after he knew he would have an opponent.

About half of the Argyllshire area was a "restricted area" because of the war. This meant that candidates and speakers needed special permission to travel there. The authorities did not give William Power, the Nationalist candidate, these permits. This made it very hard for him to travel around and campaign.

The SNP's campaign focused on the government not paying enough attention to the Scottish Highlands. William Power did not disagree with the government's plans for the war.

The Prime Minister at the time, Neville Chamberlain, sent a message to Duncan McCallum. He said they were fighting for peace and freedom in Europe. Chamberlain hoped that the people of Argyllshire would vote for McCallum by a large number. This would show that everyone was united in supporting the war effort.

Election Result

As many expected, the Unionist Party kept the seat. The Scottish National Party managed to get over 7,000 votes. Most of these votes were thought to come from people who had voted Liberal in the previous election.

Here are the results of the 1940 Argyllshire by-election:

What Happened Next?

Duncan McCallum became the new MP and took his seat in Parliament. However, within a month, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was replaced by Winston Churchill.

This election result made William Power a more important leader in the Scottish National Party. But it didn't mean the SNP would always do well in Argyll. In the next big election, the party did not run a candidate there. Instead, the Liberal and Labour candidates who had stepped aside for the by-election came back to challenge McCallum.

Here are the results from the next general election in 1945:

See also

• List of United Kingdom by-elections
• United Kingdom by-election records