1935 Combined Scottish Universities by-election

1935 Combined Scottish Universities by-election
Constituency of Combined Scottish Universities
Turnout	48.1%
MP before election; John Buchan; Unionist	Subsequent MP ; John Graham Kerr; Unionist

The 1935 Combined Scottish Universities by-election was a by-election held from 17 to 22 June 1935 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant when the sitting Unionist Member of Parliament (MP), John Buchan had resigned his seat when he was appointed as Governor General of Canada. He had held the seat since a by-election in April 1927.

Candidates

The Unionist candidate was 55-year-old John Graham Kerr, Regius Professor of Zoology at the University of Glasgow. The Labour Party candidate was the novelist and poet Naomi Mitchison. There was no Liberal Party candidate.

Neither Kerr nor Mitchison had previously contested a parliamentary election.

Result

The result was a victory for the Unionist candidate, Prof. Kerr, who won over 80% of the votes. He resigned his university chair, held the seat until the university constituencies were abolished for the 1950 general election.

Votes

Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 17-22 June 1935
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	John Graham Kerr	20,507	82.7	*N/A*
	Labour	Naomi Mitchison	4,293	17.3	−3.5
Majority			16,214	65.4	N/A
Turnout			24,800	48.1	N/A
	Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Previous election

General election, October 1931: Combined Scottish Universities
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Unionist	John Buchan	*Unopposed*	*N/A*	*N/A*
Liberal	Dugald Cowan	*Unopposed*	*N/A*	*N/A*
Unionist	Noel Skelton	*Unopposed*	*N/A*	*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