1947 Edinburgh East by-election

A 1947 by-election for the constituency of Edinburgh East in the United Kingdom House of Commons was held on 27 November 1947, caused by the appointment of the sitting Labour MP George Thomson as Lord Justice Clerk. The seat was retained by the Labour Party, with their candidate John Wheatley winning the seat.

Result

Edinburgh East by-Election 1947^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Wheatley	16,906	50.5	−5.9
	National Liberal (Conservative)	Duncan M. Matthews	11,490	34.4	−2.9
	Liberal	John Junor	3,379	10.1	New
	SNP	Mary Dott	1,682	5.0	−1.3
Majority			5,416	16.1	−3.0
Turnout			33,457
	Labour hold		Swing

Previous elections

1945 Edinburgh East by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Thomson	15,482	61.6	+5.2
	Conservative	Tam Galbraith	9,665	38.4	+1.1
Majority			5,817	23.2	+4.1
Turnout			25,147
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1945: Edinburgh East^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frederick Pethick-Lawrence	19,300	56.4	+13.2
	Conservative	William Angus Sinclair	12,771	37.3	−2.3
	SNP	FC Yeaman	2,149	6.3	New
Majority			6,529	19.1	+15.5
Turnout			34,220	69.6	+1.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.7