‘An Odious Campaign’: The Ross and Cromarty By-Election of 1936

by Rob McInroy

When former Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, and his son Malcolm lost their seats in the 1935 General Election, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin wanted both men returned to Parliament quickly. The seemingly safe seat of Ross and Cromarty became vacant in January 1936. Malcolm MacDonald was selected to be the National Government candidate, while Randolph Churchill – son of Winston Churchill – became the Unionist’s choice.

So began a memorable, abusive and odious campaign contested by the sons of two British Prime Ministers, men who loathed one another and who made no attempt to conceal the fact. Remarkably, no fewer than six children of previous, current or future Prime Ministers would be involved in the campaign, a record that is unlikely to be beaten.

Occurring during the worst winter for 50 years, the campaign encompassed the death of the King, car crashes aplenty, rampaging deer and the hospitalisation of a candidate. It is a fascinating portion of our history.