Dr Robert McIntyre, Scottish Nationalist, won the Motherwell seat from Labour in the by-election caused by the death of Mr James Walker, the former Labour member. The result, declared yesterday, was –

Dr R McIntyre (Scot Nat) 11,417

Mr A Anderson (Lab) 10,800

Majority 617

Dr McIntyre is the son of a minister and a native of Motherwell and Mr Anderson is a local schoolmaster. It was the first by-election on the new electoral register. A large number of proxy votes were cast on behalf of men and women serving overseas. The Nationalists made Scottish questions their main plank and Dr McIntyre, an advocate of Scottish Home Rule, said during his campaign: “The electors have a chance to give the Government a bit of a fright about the opinion of the Scottish people. Nobody could ever expect London to take an interest in Scottish affairs.” The figures at the general election in 1935 were –

Mr J Walker (Lab) 14,755

Mr T Ormiston (C) 14,325

Lab majority 430

Historic victory for SNP in Hamilton byelection: archive, 3 November 1967 Read more

An unstable constituency

Our Glasgow correspondent writes: The Scottish Nationalists have won a first, and, it must be acknowledged, a notable victory in the Motherwell by-election by the return of Dr McIntyre. It was against a background of past experience of Scottish Nationalist intervention in by-elections a surprise result. The party has previously fought thirty Parliamentary contests without success.

Motherwell has been for long an unstable constituency. Political allegiances had become less defined since the passing of the old radicals. The recent political history has been a series of turnovers, its representation having included Communist as well as Labour and Conservative MPs in turn. To increase this tendency to instability there was the feeling in this contest that it was a sham fight in view of the imminence of the general election and the certainty that a Conservative would then be in the field.