1934 Combined Scottish Universities by-election

The 1934 Combined Scottish Universities by-election was a by-election held from 7 to 12 March 1934 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant on 30 December 1933 when the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Dugald Cowan had died, aged 68. He had held the seat since its creation for the 1918 general election.

Candidates

Two candidates contested the by-election. The Liberal Party candidate was Dr George Morrison.

The other candidate was Robert Gibson of the Labour Party, who had unsuccessfully contested Roxburgh and Selkirk in 1929 and Edinburgh North in 1931.

Result

The result was a clear victory for Morrison, who won nearly 80% of the votes. He joined the National Liberal Party in 1935 and held the seat until his resignation in 1945, triggering another by-election.

Gibson unsuccessfully contested Dundee at the 1935 general election, and was elected as MP for Greenock at a by-election in 1936.

Votes

Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 7-12 March 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Morrison	18,070	79.2	*N/A*
	Labour	Robert Gibson	4,750	20.8	New
Majority			13,320	58.4	N/A
Turnout			22,820	44.3	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Sources

Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs