Name James Rutherford | Role Politician | |
James Rankin Rutherford JP CBE (1882 – 20 September 1967), was a Scottish Liberal Party politician.
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Background
Rutherford was educated at Lenzie Academy, Dunbartonshire. In 1915 he married Helen Warren. They had two sons and two daughters. He was awarded the CBE in 1945.
Political career
In 1918 he was elected to Kirkintilloch Town Council in Dunbartonshire. Rutherford was Liberal candidate at the Aberdeen North by-election, 1928. This was not a promising seat; there had been no Liberal candidate at the previous general election, the last Liberal candidate came third and a Liberal had not won since 1910. On top of that, the Labour candidate seeking to hold the seat was former Liberal MP, William Wedgwood Benn. He finished fourth, behind the Communist candidate. He was then Liberal candidate for the Kilmarnock division of Ayrshire at the 1929 General Election. This was a Unionist/Labour marginal seat. No Liberal had stood in 1924 but one had come second in 1923. He polled just over 21% of the vote and came third. He did not stand for parliament again. He continued to be active in municipal politics at Kirkintilloch. In 1930 he was elected to Dunbartonshire County Council. In 1931 he was appointed Provost of Kirkintilloch, serving a two-year term. In 1939 he was elected Convener of the County Council, serving for six years.