1958 Glasgow Kelvingrove by-election

The Glasgow Kelvingrove by-election of 13 March 1958 was held after the death of Conservative MP (MP) Walter Elliot.

The seat was marginal, having been won by the Conservatives at the 1955 United Kingdom general election by just short of 3,000 votes.[1] Elliot's widow Katharine Elliot stood to replace her husband as a Unionist, but she was defeated by Labour's Mary McAlister.

Background

A former cabinet minister, Walter Elliot had first been elected for the seat in 1924, having previously been MP for Lanark. He had lost the seat in the Labour landslide of 1945, but after sitting as an MP for the Scottish Universities, had fought it again in 1950 and regained it.[2]

David Murray, who stood as a 'Liberal Home-ruler' was not officially endorsed by the Liberal Party, but Scottish Liberal chairman J. M. Bannerman spoke in his favour "as an individual".[3]

Result of the previous general election

General election 1955: Glasgow Kelvingrove

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Walter Elliot	14,854	55.38
	Labour	John Williams	11,966	44.62
Majority			2,888	10.76
Turnout			26,820
	Conservative hold		Swing

Result of the by-election

By-election 1958: Glasgow Kelvingrove[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mary McAlister	10,210	48.00	+3.38
	Conservative	Katharine Elliot	8,850	41.61	-13.77
	Independent Liberal	David Murray	1,622	7.63	New
	Ind. Labour Party	W Park	587	2.76	New
Majority			1,360	6.39	N/A
Turnout			21,269
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+8.67

References

1. Archived 11 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine PoliticsResources.net
2. The Times House of Commons 1951. The Times. London. 1951. p. 190.
3. "Kelvingrove Vote Today". The Glasgow Herald. 13 March 1958. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
4. "1958 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2015.