The 1935

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

by-election was held on 16 April 1935. The by-election was held due to the succession to the peerage of the incumbent Unionist MP, Mungo Murray, Lord Scone. It was won by the Liberal National candidate Francis Norie-Miller. Norie-Miller contested

as a Liberal at the 1931 general election. The Liberal Party, led by Sir

Herbert Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935. He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet minister and to beco ...

had agreed to support the National Government of

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

at the 1931 general election, with some reservations over the traditional Liberal policy of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

and Norie-Miller fought the election publicly supporting the government . However the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

also supported the National Government and neither party therefore had a clear advantage with the electorate in terms of identification with the National Government. Norie-Miller then stood down as prospective Liberal candidate for Perth and in 1934 the local Liberal Association selected James Scott, the former Liberal MP for Kincardine and Aberdeenshire West as their new representative. In 1935, when Lord Scone succeeded his father as

Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield Earl of Mansfield, in the County of Nottingham, and Earl of Mansfield, in the County of Middlesex, are two titles in the Peerage of Great Britain that have been united under a single holder since 1843. History The titles Earl of Mansfield (in ...

and went to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, a by-election was called for Perth. However, instead of adopting James Scott as their Parliamentary candidate, the Perth Liberals invited Norie-Miller to fight the election as they learned that Perth Conservatives were willing not to oppose him at the by-election providing he stood as a National candidate. Scott was known as a strong supporter of Free Trade whereas Norie-Miller favoured tariffs and protectionism.The Liberal Magazine For the Year 1935; Liberal Publication Dept.,1935 p229 In a straight fight with the Labour candidate the former MP Adam McKinley, Norie-Miller won the by-election on 16 April 1935 by a majority of 9,532. Norie-Miller decided not to contest the 1935 general election in November that year.

References

1935 elections in the United Kingdom 1935 in Scotland 1930s elections in Scotland Politics of Perth and Kinross Politics of Perth, Scotland By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies April 1935 events {{Scotland-UK-Parl-by-election-stub