1945 Motherwell by-election
The Motherwell by-election was held on 12 April 1945, following the death of Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Motherwell , James Walker .
The by-election took place during the Second World War during unusual political conditions. No general election had been held since 1935 , at which James Walker narrowly gained the seat for Labour from the Unionist Party .
There was a truce between the major parties: Labour, the Conservative Party , Liberal Party and the National Liberal Party .[citation needed ] The Communist Party of Great Britain , which had held Motherwell in the past, also undertook to abide by the truce. As a result, the only opposition in by-elections came from independents , minor parties and occasional unofficial party candidates aligned with major parties.
For the by-election, the Labour Party stood Alexander Anderson . His only opposition came from the Scottish National Party (SNP), then a small party advocating Scottish independence , who stood Party Secretary Robert McIntyre .[1]
Results
The election was won by McIntyre, who became the first SNP Member of Parliament . However, Anderson regained the seat from McIntyre at the 1945 general election a few months later.
See also
References
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1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s