1950 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 23 February 1950, and all 71 seats in Scotland were contested.^[1] The Labour Party won a plurality of votes and a majority of seats within Scotland. When combined with results from across the UK the Labour government of Clement Attlee was returned to power with a slim majority of only 5. This proved unworkable, and a further election was held the following year.

1950 United Kingdom general election

← 1945 23 February 1950 1951 →
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All 71 Scottish seats to the House of Commons
First party Second party Third party   Leader Clement Attlee Winston Churchill Clement Davies Party Labour Unionist Liberal Last election 37 seats, 47.9% 27 seats, 40.3% 0 seats, 5.6% Seats won 37 31[a] 2 Seat change 4 2 Popular vote 1,259,410 1,222,010 180,270 Percentage 46.2% 44.8% 6.6% Swing 1.7 4.5 1.0
Results of the 1950 election in Scotland   Conservative/Unionist   Labour   Liberal   National Liberal   Independent Liberal

Main article: 1950 United Kingdom general election

The Liberals gained two seats in Scotland, having been unrepresented north of the border in the previous parliament. Scotland's only Communist MP, Willie Gallacher, was defeated in his West Fife seat, which went to Labour. Only one independent MP, John MacLeod was returned (as member for Ross and Cromarty standing as an "Independent Liberal").

Results

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour Party		37		1,259,410	46.2	1.7
	Conservative and Unionist (Total)		31	4	1,222,010	44.8	4.5
		Unionist	26	2	1,013,909	37.2	0.5
		National Liberal & Conservative	5	2	208,101	7.6	4.0
	Liberal		2	2	180,270	6.6	1.0
	SNP		0		9,708	0.4	0.9
	Communist		0	1	27,559	1.0	0.4
	Other		1[b]	2	27,727	1.0	0.7
Total			71		2,726,684	100

Votes summary

Popular vote[a] Labour   46.2% Unionist   44.8% Liberal   6.6% Other   2.4%

Parliamentary seats[a] Labour   37 seats Unionist   31 seats Liberal   2 seats Independent Liberal   1 seats

Notes

1. The seat and vote count figures for the Unionists given here include the National Liberals.
2. John MacLeod won Ross and Cromarty standing as an "Independent Liberal".