Harman Patil (Editor)

United Kingdom general election, 1931 (Scotland)

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27 October 1931
  
1935 →

20
  
New

1,056,768
  
101,430

Start date
  
October 27, 1931

23 October 1922
  
5 October 1931

50
  
8

49.5%
  
4.9%

United Kingdom general election, 1931 (Scotland)

The 1931 United Kingdom general election in Scotland was held on 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.

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 election (where it had won 42% of the Scottish vote), was relegated into fourth place.

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 organizational growth of the Labour party in Scotland.

References

United Kingdom general election, 1931 (Scotland) Wikipedia