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

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]

Results

1958 Aberdeenshire East by-election[7][8] Electorate
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

  1. ↑ "Polling Day". Bristol Evening Post. Bristol. 31 October 1958. p. 17. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  2. ↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary Election Results 1950-1970. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. p. 629. ISBN 0 900178 02 7.
  3. ↑ "Undergraduate Stands for Parliament". Birmingham Post. Birmingham. 11 November 1958. p. 24. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "East Aberdeenshire". Birmingham Post. Birmingham. 22 November 1958. p. 4. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Undergraduate as Youngest M.P.". The Daily Telegraph. Bristol. 22 November 1958. p. 1. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  6. ↑ "Dame Flora Hits at Lord Montgomery". The Daily Telegraph. Bristol. 13 November 1958. p. 16. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  7. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
  8. ↑ "1958 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2015.


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