1931 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, 27 October 1931. Of the 74 seats representing Scotland, 71 seats represented burgh and county constituencies contested under the First-Past-The-Post electoral system, and 3 represented the Combined Scottish Universities multi-member University constituency.

1931 United Kingdom general election

← 1929 27 October 1931 1935 →

All 74 Scottish seats to the House of Commons
  First party Second party
 
Leader Stanley Baldwin Herbert Samuel
Party Unionist Liberal
Leader since 23 October 1922 October 1931
Seats before 20 13
Seats won 50 8
Seat change Increase28 Decrease6
Popular vote 1,056,768 205,384
Percentage 49.5% 8.6%
Swing Increase13.6% Decrease9.5%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Sir John Simon Arthur Henderson
Party National Liberal Labour
Leader since 5 October 1931 1 September 1931
Last election 36 seats
Seats before New party
Seats won 8 7
Seat change Increase8 Decrease29
Popular vote 101,430 696,248
Percentage 4.9% 32.6%
Swing New party Decrease9.7%

Results of the 1931 election in Scotland

The election saw massive gains for the Unionists across the country, with the party winning nearly 70% of all Scottish seats. The parties forming the National Government together won 64% of the vote, and 86% of the seats. In contrast the Labour Party, which had been the largest party in Scotland following the 1929 general election (where it had won 42% of the Scottish vote), was relegated into fourth place within just two years.

Following the election, with Labour appearing to teeter on the edge of the electoral abyss in Scotland, the Independent Labour Party increasingly moved apart from Labour, ultimately dissociating from the party in March 1932. The ILP had dominated the Labour movement in Scotland since 1918, dominating community based activism, and essentially forming the Labour Party in Scotland. This had ultimately served to undermine the organisational growth of the Labour Party in Scotland.[1]

Results

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Burgh & County constituencies

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Party Seats Seats change Votes % % Change
  National Government (Total) 64 1,385,385 64.0
  Unionist 48  28 1,056,768 49.5  13.6
  National Liberal & Conservative 8 New 101,430 4.9 New
  Liberal 7  6 205,384 8.6  9.5
  National Labour 1 New 21,803 1.0 New
  Labour Party 7  29 696,248 32.6  9.7
  Communist 0   35,618 1.4  0.3
  National Party of Scotland 0   20,954 1.0  0.8
  New Party 0 New 3,895 0.2 New
  Other 0 32,229 0.8
Total 71 2,174,329 100

University constituencies

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General election, November 1931: Combined Scottish Universities
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist John Buchan unopposed
Liberal Dugald McCoig Cowan unopposed
Unionist Archibald Noel Skelton unopposed

Votes summary

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Popular vote
Unionist
49.50%
Labour
32.60%
Liberal
8.60%
National Liberal
4.90%
Communist
1.40%
National Labour
1.00%
NPS
1.00%
New Party
0.20%
Other
0.80%
Parliament seats
Unionist
70.42%
Liberal
11.27%
National Liberal
11.27%
Labour
9.86%
National Labour
1.41%

References

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  1. ^ William Kenefick (2007). Red Scotland!: The Rise and Fall of the Radical Left, C. 1872–1932. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 202–203. ISBN 978-0-7486-2517-8.