1920 Edinburgh North by-election
.svg.png){kind=small} | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 April 1920 (Polling)
22 April 1920 (Declaration) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Registered | 35,663 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 62.3% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
The 1920 Edinburgh North by-election was held on 9 April 1920. The by-election was held due to the resignation of the incumbent Coalition Conservative MP, James Avon Clyde after he was appointed to the bench as Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session.[1] It was won by the Coalition Conservative candidate Patrick Ford[2]
Background
James Avon Clyde had held Edinburgh North since it was formed from Edinburgh East for the 1918 election and previously had held Edinburgh West since 1909.
Candidates
Unionist
- Patrick Ford, advocate, candidate for Edinburgh East in 1909 & January 1910 and Inverness Burghs in 1918.
Liberal
- Walter Runciman, President of the Board of Trade (1914–1916), President of the Board of Agriculture (1911–1914), President of the Board of Education (1908–1911), member for Oldham (1899–1900) and for Dewsbury (1902–1918)
Labour
- David Pole, solicitor and candidate for East Grinstead in 1918[3]
The original Labour candidate was James Maxton, a Glasgow school teacher and candidate for Glasgow Bridgeton in 1918, however he would be replaced by Pole.
Coalition Liberal
There were initial suggestions that the Coalition Liberals were planning on running former Lord Provost of Edinburgh John MacLeod as their candidate, however they opted to back the Unionists.[4]
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Unionist | Patrick Ford | 9,944 | 44.8 | –18.2 |
| Liberal | Walter Runciman | 8,469 | 38.1 | +1.1 | |
| Labour | David Pole | 3,808 | 17.1 | New | |
| Majority | 1,475 | 6.7 | –19.3 | ||
| Turnout | 22,221 | 62.3 | +9.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 35,663 | ||||
| Unionist hold | Swing | –9.7 | |||
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. | |||||
Aftermath
All three candidates would end up in Parliament with Runciman winning Swansea West in 1924 and Pole winning South Derbyshire in 1929.
References
- ↑ "No. 13588". The Edinburgh Gazette. 20 April 1920. p. 1119.
- ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- ↑ "NORTH EDINBURGH". Belfast News-Letter. 29 March 1920. p. 7. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- ↑ "NORTH EDINBURGH. COALITION BREACH AVERTED". Evening Mail. 24 March 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- ↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.