1936 Greenock by-election

The 1936 Greenock by-election was a by-election held on 26 November 1936 for the UK House of Commons constituency of Greenock in Renfrewshire, Scotland.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant on 13 October 1936 when the Secretary of State for Scotland, Sir Godfrey Collins died at the age of 61. A National Liberal Member of Parliament (MP), he held the seat since the January 1910 general election.

Candidates

The National Liberal candidate was V. E. Cornelius, who had not previously contested a parliamentary election.

His only opponent was the Labour Party candidate, 50-year-old Robert Gibson. Gibson had unsuccessfully contested one by-election and three general elections most recently at Dundee in 1935.

Result

On a high turnout, the result was a victory for Gibson, who won the seat with a swing of nearly 8%. He held the seat until his resignation in 1941.

Votes

Greenock by-election, 26 November 1936

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Gibson	20,594	53.4	+9.4
	National Liberal	V. E. Cornelius	17,990	46.6	−6.1
Majority			2,604	6.8	N/A
Turnout			38,584	83.3	−1.1
	Labour gain from National Liberal		Swing	+7.85

Previous election

General election, November 1935: Greenock

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Godfrey Collins	20,299	52.7	+1.6
	Labour	T. Irwin	16,945	44.0	+13.3
	SNP	J. L. Kinloch	1,286	3.3	New
Majority			3,354	8.7	−15.7
Turnout			38,530	84.4	+4.1
	National Liberal hold		Swing	−5.9

See also

• Greenock (UK Parliament constituency)
• Greenock
• 1941 Greenock by-election
• 1955 Greenock by-election
• List of United Kingdom by-elections (1931–1950)

Sources

• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs