1958 East Aberdeenshire by-election
The 1958 East Aberdeenshire by-election was held on 20 November 1958 when the incumbent Conservative MP, Sir Robert Boothby was elevated to a life peerage.[1] The by-election was retained by the Conservative candidate Patrick Wolrige-Gordon. Wolrige-Gordon was still an undergraduate at Oxford and at the time of his election the youngest MP, having been only 23 at the time.[2][3]
In 1955 Boothby had won the seat with a majority of just over 10,000 votes, and prior to his elevation, had served in his seat for 34 years.[4] While that contest had been a straight fight between the Conservatives and Labour, the by-election saw the Liberal Party also field a candidate. Analysis showed that the by-election had a higher voter turnout than the general election, with a 65.34% turnout rate vs. a 59.7% in the general election.[5]
Controversies
[edit]One week prior to the election, controversy stirred up around Wolrige-Gordon's candidacy following a rally held by his grandmother, Dame Flora MacLeod, following comments she made about Viscount Bernard Montgomery during a rally of housewives from Fraserburgh, in which she criticized Montgomery for taking an old-age pension from the government in spite of the fact that he was already incredibly wealthy, calling for more pension allocation for poorer residents.[6]
Result
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Patrick Wolrige-Gordon | 14,314 | 48.5 | −20.0 | |
| Labour | John B Urquhart | 7,986 | 27.1 | −4.4 | |
| Liberal | Maitland Mackie | 7,153 | 24.3 | New | |
| Majority | 6,328 | 21.4 | −15.7 | ||
| Turnout | 29,485 | ||||
| Unionist hold | Swing | ||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Polling Day". Bristol Evening Post. Bristol. 31 October 1958. p. 17. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary Election Results 1950-1970. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. p. 629. ISBN 0 900178 02 7.
- ^ "Undergraduate Stands for Parliament". Birmingham Post. Birmingham. 11 November 1958. p. 24. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ "East Aberdeenshire". Birmingham Post. Birmingham. 22 November 1958. p. 4. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ "Undergraduate as Youngest M.P.". The Daily Telegraph. Bristol. 22 November 1958. p. 1. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ "Dame Flora Hits at Lord Montgomery". The Daily Telegraph. Bristol. 13 November 1958. p. 16. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
- ^ "1958 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
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