1945 Motherwell by-election

12 April 1945

	First party	Second party

Candidate	Robert McIntyre	Alexander Anderson
Party	SNP	Labour
Popular vote	11,417	10,800
Percentage	51.4%	48.6%
Swing	51.4%	2.1%

Map showing the Motherwell Parliamentary constituency within Scotland.

MP before election

James Walker
Labour

Subsequent MP

Robert McIntyre
SNP

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The 1945 Motherwell by-election was held on 12 April 1945, following the death of Labour MP for Motherwell, James Walker.

The by-election took place during the Second World War during unusual political conditions. No general election had been held since 1935, at which James Walker narrowly gained the seat for Labour from the Unionist Party.

There was a truce between the major parties: Labour, the Conservative Party, Liberal Party and the National Liberal Party. The Communist Party of Great Britain, which had held Motherwell in the past, also undertook to abide by the truce. As a result, the only opposition in by-elections came from independents, minor parties and occasional unofficial party candidates aligned with major parties.

For the by-election, the Labour Party selected Alexander Anderson. His only opposition came from the Scottish National Party, then a small party advocating Scottish independence, who selected Party Secretary Robert McIntyre.