 | 'Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on!' Winnie Ewing at Hamilton, 1967. |  |
| 'Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on!' Winnie Ewing at Hamilton, 1967. | |
Joseph Westwood MP (Labour, Stirling & Falkirk), is appointed Secretary of State for Scotland.
VJ (Victory in Japan) Day. Second World War ends. 57,000 Scots lost their lives in the conflict.
Britain faces economic crisis as the new President of the United States, Harry Truman, ends the wartime Lease-Lend agreement. The economist Keynes describes the situation as 'a financial Dunkirk'.
Combined Scottish Universities by-election following the resignation of Sir John Boyd Orr, later 1 st Lord Boyd-Orr, Independent MP since April 1945. Walter William Elliot, previous Secretary of State for Scotland and Tory MP for Glasgow Kelvingrove from 1924 until 1945 wins the seat for the Conservatives. In 1950 the Combined Scottish Universities seats are abolished. Elliot regains Glasgow Kelvingrove from Labour and holds the seat until his death in 1958.
Coal mines are nationalised and the National Coal Board is established.
The Scottish Convention creates the Scottish National Assembly which elects a committee to draft a plan for home rule for Scotland.
John McGovern MP, (Independent Labour Party, Glasgow Shettleston) resigns the Independent Labour Party whip to rejoin the Labour party.
Campbell Stephen MP, (Independent Labour Party, Glasgow Camlachie) resigns the Independent Labour Party whip to sit as an Independent.
Rev Campbell Stephen MP, (Independent, Glasgow Camlachie) joins the Labour Party.
James Carmichael MP (Independent Labour Party, Glasgow Bridgeton) resigns the Independent Labour Party whip to sit as an Independent.
Arthur Woodburn MP (Labour, Clackmannan & East Stirlingshire), is appointed Secretary of State for Scotland.
James Carmichael MP (Independent, Glasgow Bridgeton) joins the Labour Party.
Glasgow Camlachie by-election following the death of Campbell Stephen, Independent Labour Party MP. Charles Stewart McFarlane wins the seat for the Conservatives. Conservative + 1.4 %, Labour +42.1 %, Independent Labour Party - 51.3 %, Independent (+ 5.2 %), Independent Socialist (+ 1.4 %), Liberal (+ 1.2 %). Labour's William Reid wins the seat at the 1950 general election.
Paisley by-election following the succession of Major the Viscount Corvedale (Labour) as second Earl Baldwin of Bewdley. D.H. Johnson holds the seat for Labour over National candidate (with Conservative and Liberal support), John McCormick. Labour +1.2 %, National +0.5 % (compared to Conservative + Liberal vote). Labour hold at the 1950 general election.
John Hamilton Mackie MP (Independent Unionist, Galloway) rejoins the Conservative (Unionist) Party after being denied the whip and elected as and Independent in 1945.
The Scottish National Assembly publishes a Blue Print calling for a Scottish Parliament.
Eric Leslie Gander Gower MP (Conservative, Caithness & Sutherland) resigns the Conservative whip to sit as an Independent.
The National Covenant, a petition calling for a Scottish Parliament, is launched.
The Representation of the People Act enshirines the principle of One Person, One Vote. Businessmen and University graduates and the City of London will lose their second vote at the next election. 17 additional seats are to be created in the UK, but Scotland is to lose three seats with her representation cut from 74 to 71.
The Tories (Scottish Unionists) call for a Royal Commission on Scotland.
The Parliament Act curbes the delaying powers of the House of Lords. Despite being repeatedly rejected by the Lords, it becomes law as it has been passed three times by the House of Commons.
Tory leader Winston Churchill addresses an election rally at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh and declares 'I will never adopt the view that Scotland should be forced into the serfdom of socialism as a result of a vote in the House of Commons'.
General election. Labour government under Rt Hon Clement Atlee, later 1 st Earl Atlee of Walthamstow. MPs elected in Scotland: Labour 37, Conservatives and allies 31, Liberals 2. % of vote: Labour 46.2 %, Conservatives and allies 44.8 %, Liberals 6.6 %, Communists 1.0 %, SNP 0.4 %. others 0.2 %.
Labour win West Fife from Communist.
Labour win Glasgow Central and Glasgow Camlachie from Conservative
Conservatives win Edinburgh North, Lanark, Glasgow Kelvingrove, Glasgow Woodside, West Renfrewshire from Labour.
Liberals win Roxburgh & Selkirk and Orkney & Shetland from Conservatives.
Hector McNeil (Labour MP for Greenock) is appointed Labour Secretary of State for Scotland.
The Scottish Trades Union Council emphasises the unity of the United Kindom and rejects a call to support a Scottish Parliament by 243 votes to 78.
West Dunbartonshire by-election following the death of Labour MP, A. S. McKinlay. Tom Steele holds the seat for Labour with a 293 majority over Conservative R. A. Allan. Labour + 1.1 %, Conservative + 1.8 %. Labour hold at the 1951 general election.
Glasgow Scotstoun by-election following the death of Conservative MP, Sir Arthur Young. Col. James Hutchison holds the seat for the Conservatives with a 1,319 majority over Labour/Co-op's W. Bargh. Conservative + 4.3 %, Labour + 1.3 %, Independent Labour Party (+ 1.9 %). Conservative hold at the 1951 general election.
The Stone of Scone, which was looted from Scone Abbey by Edward I of England in 1296, is removed from Westminster Abbey and returned to Scotland by Kay Matheson, Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon and Alan Stuart.
The Stone of Scone is returned to Westminster Abbey.
General election. Conservative government under Sir Winston Churchill, who is elected Prime Minister for the first time at the age of 77. MPs elected in Scotland: Conservative 35, Labour 35, Liberals 1. % of vote: Conservatives and allies 48.6 %, Labour 47.9 %, Liberals 2.8 %, Communists 0.4 %, SNP 0.3 %, other 0.1 %.
Conservatives win Berwick & East Lothian and Rutherglen from Labour.
Conservatives win Roxburgh & Selkirk from the Liberals.
James Stuart (Conservative MP for Moray & Nairn), later 1 st Viscount Stuart of Findhorn, is appointed Secretary of State for Scotland.
Death of King George VI of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha (aka Windsor) and succession of his eldest daughter, Elizabeth Mountbatten, Duchess of Edinburgh.
Dundee East by-election following the death of Labour MP, Thomas Cook. George Thomson, later Lord Thomson of Monifeith, holds the seat for Labour with a 8,126 majority over Conservative P. T. Cowcher. Labour + 2.4 %, Conservative - 10.6 %, Scottish National Party (+ 7.4 %), World Parliament Party (+ 0.7 %). Labour hold at the 1955 general election.
Elizabeth Mountbatten, Duchess of Edinburgh, is crowned at Westminster and adopts the English style of Queen Elizabeth II.
Elizabeth Mountbatten is invested in Edinburgh as Queen of Scots. The Honours of Scotland, the Crown, Sword of State, and Sceptre are carried in procession for the first time since 1822. Mountbatten's contempt for Scotland and the Scots shocks when she turns up for the ceremony wearing casual dress and wielding a large handbag.
Scotland's senior judge, Lord Cooper, the Lord Justice General & Lord President of the Court of Session confirms the sovereignty of the Scottish people stating: 'The principle of the unlimited sovereignty of Parliament is a distinctly English principle which has no counterpart in Scottish Constitutional Law... considering that the union legislation extinguished the Parliaments of Scotland and of England and replaced them with anew parliament, I have difficulty in seeing why it should have been supposed that the new Parliament of Great Britain must inherit all the peculiar characteristics of the English Parliament but none of the Scottish Parliament as if all that happened in 1707 was that ... Scottish representatives were admitted to the Parliament of England. That is not what was done....I have not found in the Union legislation any provision that the parliament of Great Britain should be absolutely sovereign in the sense that parliament should be free to alter the treaty at will...'
Edinburgh East by-election following the resignation of Labour MP, John Wheatley KC. Eustace Willis holds the seat for Labour with a 5,028 majority over Conservative W. Grant. Labour + 3.6 %, Conservative - 3.6 %. Labour hold at the 1955 general election.
Motherwell by-election following the death of Labour MP, Alexander Anderson. George Lawson holds the seat for Labour with a 5,829 majority over Conservative N. A. Sloan. Labour - 0.8 %, Conservative - 3.5 %, Communist (+ 4.3 %). Labour hold at the 1955 general election.
The Royal Commission on Scottish Affairs is published. It make no recommendations for setting up a Scottish Parliament and merely proposes extra powers for the Scottish Office.
Emrys Hughes MP (Labour, South Ayrshire) and John McGovern (Labour, Glasgow Shettleston) have the Labour whip withdrawn concerning German re-armament and sit as Independents.
Inverness by-election following the resignation of Conservative MP, Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton, third son of the 13 th Duke of Hamilton. Neil McLean holds the seat for the Conservatives with a 1,331 majority over Liberal John Bannerman. Conservative - 23.2 %, Liberal (+ 36.0 %), Labour - 12.9 %. Conservative hold at the 1955 general election.
Edinburgh North by-election following the resignation of Conservative MP, James Clyde KC. W. R. Milligan KC holds the seat for the Conservatives with a 3,614 majority over Labour's G. Scott. Conservative + 0.6 %, Labour - 0.6 %. Conservative hold at the 1955 general election.
Emrys Hughes MP (Independent, South Ayrshire) has the Labour whip restored.
Anthony Wedgewood Benn, Labour MP and heir to the first Viscount Stansgate, fails in his attempt to renounce his future inheritance of the peerage.
John McGovern MP (Independent, Glasgow Shettleston) has the Labour whip restored.
Winston Churchill resigns as Tory Prime Minister and is succeeded by Sir Anthony Eden, later 1 st Earl of Avon.
General election. Conservative government under Rt Hon Sir Anthony Eden, later 1 st Earl of Avon.
MPs elected in Scotland: Conservative 36, Labour 34, Liberals 1. % of vote: Conservatives and allies 50.1 %, Labour 46.7 %, Liberals 1.9 %, Communists 0.5 %, SNP 0.5 %, other 0.3 %.
Conservatives win Central Ayrshire from Labour.
The Rt Hon Clement Atlee resigns as leader of the Labour party. He becomes the first Labour leader to accept a hereditary peerage as the 1 st Earl Atlee of Walthamstow.
Greenock by-election following the death of Labour MP, Hector McNeil, Secretary of State for Scotland from 1950 - 1951. Dr Jesse Dickson Mabon holds the seat for Labour with a 2,694 majority over Conservative I. MacArthur. Labour + 2.4 %, Conservative - 2.4 %. Labour hold at the 1959 general election.
Hugh Gaitskell is elected leader of the UK Labour party. He wins 157 votes compared to 70 for Aneurin Bevan and 40 for Herbert Morrison. Herbert Morrison resigns as Deputy leader of the UK Labour party.
Hugh Gaitskell declares that the Labour Party is opposed to home rule for Scotland.
The Suez canal is nationalised by Egypt.
The RAF and French Air Force bomb the Suez canal. The USA and other countries condemn the British and French military action.
Jo Grimond, later Baron Grimond (Liberal MP for Orkney & Shetland), becomes Liberal leader in the House of Commons.
Conservative, Sir Anthony Eden, later first Earl of Avon, resigns as British Prime Minister due to ill health after one year and 279 days in office, and 70 days after the military action at Suez.
Conservative, Harold MacMillian, later the 1 st Earl of Stockton, become British Prime Minister.
John Scott Maclay (Conservative MP for West Renfrewshire), later Viscount Muirshiel, is appointed Secretary of State for Scotland.
The Scottish Labour Party declares that there are 'compelling economic grounds' for opposing any for of home rule for Scotland.
Britain declines to join France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg as a founder member of the European Economic Community or 'Common Market'.
Patrick Francis Maitland, later 17 th Earl of Lauderdale (MP for Lanark) has the Conservative whip withdrawn and sits as an Independent.
Edinburgh South by-election following the resignation of Conservative MP, Sir William Darling. Michael Clark Hutchison holds the seat for the Conservatives with a 4,640 majority over Labour's J. A. Forsyth. Conservative - 21.9 %, Labour - 1.6 %, Liberal (+ 23.5 %). Conservative hold at the 1959 general election.
The government announces that Life Peerages (male and female) will be created. This means that women will be able to take a seat in the House of Lords. Female hereditary peers are still unable to sit in the House of Lords.
Patrick Francis Maitland, later 17 th Earl of Lauderdale (Independent MP for Lanark) has the Conservative whip restored.
Labour formally drop their committment to Scottish Home Rule: The Scottish Labour Party conference declares that Scotland's problems can only be resolved within the framework of the United Kingdom.
Glasgow Kelvingrove by-election following the death of Walter William Elliot, previous Secretary of State for Scotland and Tory MP for Glasgow Kelvingrove from 1924 until 1945 and from 1950 until 1958, and Tory MP for Scottish Universities from 1946 until 1950. Mary Agnes McAlister wins the seat for Labour with a majority of 1,360 over Conservative Mrs Katherine Elliot, later Baroness Elliot of Harwood, the widow of the prevous MP. Labour + 3.4 %, Conservative - 13.8 %, Independent (+7.6 %), Independent Labour Party (+ 2.8 %). Labour regain the seat at the 1959 General election.
Argyll by-election following the death of Conservative MP, Major Duncan McCallum. Michael Noble holds the seat for the Conservatives with a 5,166 majority over Liberal W. D. McKean. Conservative - 20.9 %, Liberal (+ 27.5 %), Labour - 6.7 %. Conservative hold at the 1959 general election.
William Fraser receives the first Life peerage as Lord Fraser of Lonsdale on 1 st August 1958.
Robert Boothby, Conservative MP for Aberdeenshire East since 1924, recieves a Life Peerage as Baron Boothby.
Katherine Elliot, widow of Conservative Secretary of State for Scotland, William Elliot, receives a life peerage as Baroness Elliot of Harwood.
East Aberdeenshire by-election following the elevation of Conservative MP, Robert Boothby to a Life Peerage. Patrick Wolrige-Gordon holds the seat for the Conservatives with a 6,328 majority over Labour's J.B. Urquhart. Conservative - 19.9 %, Labour - 4.4 %, Liberal (+ 24.3 %). Conservative hold at the 1959 general election.
Sir David Robertson MP (Conservative, Caithness & Sutherland) resigns the Conservative whip over Scottish Highlands policy and sits as an Independent.
Galloway by-election following the death of Conservative MP, John McKie. John Brewis holds the seat for the Conservatives with a 6,483 majority over Liberal the Hon. S.B. Mackay. Conservative - 16.4 %, Liberal (+ 25.7 %), Labour - 9.3 %. Conservative hold at the 1959 general election.
General election. Conservative government under Harold MacMillian, later the 1 st Earl of Stockton. MPs elected in Scotland: Labour 38, Conservative and allies 31, Liberals 1, Independent Conservative 1. % of vote: Labour 46.7 %, Conservatives and allies 47.3 %, Liberals 4.1 %, SNP 0.8 %, Independent Conservatives 0.5 %, Communists 0.5 %, others 0.3 %.
Labour win Central Ayrshire, Glasgow Craigton and Lanark from the Conservatives.
The Conservatives win Glasgow Kelvingrove from Labour.
Edinburgh North by-election following the resignation of Conservative MP, W. R. Milligan, QC. John Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Earl of Dalkeith, later 9 th Duke of Buccleuch & 11 th Duke of Queensberry, holds the seat for the Conservatives with a 5,334 majority over Labour's Ronald King Murray. Conservative - 9.8 %, Labour - 5.7 %, Liberal (+ 15.5 %). Conservative hold at the 1964 general election.
UK Labour leadership challenge. Party leader Hugh Gaitskell wins 148 votes compared to 81 for Harold Wilson, later Lord Wilson of Rievaulx.
Anthony Wedgewood Benn succeeds his father as second Viscount Stansgate and is barred from the House of Commons.
The Labour whip is suspended from William Baxter MP (Labour, West Stirlingshire) and Emrys Hughes MP (Labour, South Ayrshire) for voting against army estimates.
Paisley by-election following the resignation of Labour MP, Douglas Johnston, QC. John Robertson holds the seat for Labour with a 1,658 majority over Liberal John Bannerman. Labour - 11.9 %, Liberal (+ 41.4 %), Conservative - 29.5 %. Labour hold at the 1964 general election.
Anthony Wedgewood Benn, second Viscount Stansgate, who increased his majority over the Conservatives from 5,827 to 13,044 in a by-election following the death of his father, is barred from entering the House of Commons. In July 1961, the Election Court declares the Conservative candidate, Malcolm St Clair the MP, despite his winning only 30.5 of the vote. Following St Clair's resignation on 2 nd August 1963, Benn is finally re-elected with 79.3 % of the vote and re-admitted to the House of Commons.
Death of John MacCormick, National Secretary of the National Party of Scotland, and founder member of the Scottish National Party.
Sir William Smith Duthie MP (Conservative, Banfshire) has the Conservative whip withdrawn after his opposition to the Sea Fish Industry Bill and sits as an Independent. The whip is restored in November 1963
Labour leadership challenge. Party leader Hugh Gaitskell wins 171 votes compared to 59 for A. Greenwood.
East Fife by-election following the death of Conservative MP, Sir James Henderson-Stewart. Sir John Gilmour, Bt., DSO holds the seat for the Conservatives with a 7,066 majority over Labour's John Smith, later leader of the UK Labour party. Conservative - 22.4 %, Labour - 3.7 %, Liberal (+ 26.1 %). Conservative hold at the 1964 general election.
Glasgow Bridgeton by-election following the resignation of Labour MP, James Carmichael. James Bennett holds the seat for Labour with a 6,995 majority over Conservative M. McNeil. Labour - 5.9 %, Conservative - 15.9 %, Scottish National Party (+18.7 %), Independent Labour Party (+3.1 %). Labour hold at the 1964 general election.
West Lothian by-election following the death of John Taylor, Labour MP since 1951. Sir Thomas (Tam) Dalyell of the Binns retains the seat for Labour with a majority of 11,516 over the Scottish National Party's William Wolfe. Labour - 9.4 %, Scottish National Party (+ 23.3 %), Conservative - 28.3 %, Liberal (+ 10.8 %), Communist (+ 3.6 %). Labour hold at the 1964 general election.
'Night of the Long Knives'. Tory Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, later 1 st Earl of Stockton, sacks seven members of his cabinet including Selwyn Lloyd the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Harold Watkinson the Minister of Defence, Lord Kilmuir the Lord Chancellor, and James Stuart, later Viscount Stuart of Findhorn, the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Michael Noble MP (Conservative, Argyll), later Lord Glenkinglas, is appointed Secretary of State for Scotland.
State visit to Scotland of King Olav V of Norway.
Thomas Galbraith (Conservative MP for Hillhead) resigns as Parliamentary Under Secretary of Sate at the Scottish Office due to his connection to KGB spy John Vassall.
Glasgow Woodside by-election following the resignation of William Grant, Conservative MP since 1955. Neil George Carmichael, later Lord Carmichael of Kelvingrove wins the seat for Labour with a majority of 1,386 over Conservative N. M. Glen. Labour - 7.0 %, Conservative - 19.1 %, Liberal + 14.0 %, Scottish National Party (+ 11.1 %). Labour hold at the 1964 general election.
French President General de Gaulle vetoes Britain's application to join the EEC (European Economic Community).
Death of the UK Labour leader, Hugh Gaitskell.
Labour leadership election. Harold Wilson, later Lord Wilson of Rievaulx 115, George Brown, later Lord George-Brown, 88, James Callaghan, later Lord Callaghan of Cardiff 41. A second ballot is held on the 14 th.
Harold Wilson,, later Lord Wilson of Rievaulxm is elected Labour leader with 144 votes against 103 for George Brownm later Lord George-Brown.
William Baxter MP (Independent, West Stirlingshire) and Emrys Hughes MP (Independent, South Ayrshire) have the Labour whip restored.
Thomas Galbraith (Conservative MP for Hillhead) is appointed as Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Transport after being exonerated of passing information KGB spy John Vassal.
Peerage Act. This allows hereditary peeresses and all Scottish peers to sit in the House of Lords.
The act also allows peers to renounce their titles and therefore sit as members of the House of Commons. Anthony Wedgewood Benn (second Viscount Stansgate), Sir Alec Douglas Home (14 th Earl of Home), and Lord James Douglas Hamilton (becomes 11 th Earl of Selkirk in 1995) use this act to renounce their peerages.
The Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, resigns after admitting lying to the House of Commons concerning his relationship with Christine Keeler, mistress of the Soviet naval attaché.
Harold MacMillian, later the 1 st Earl of Stockton, resigns as as leader of the Tory party and Prime Minister due ill health.
The 14 th Earl of Home, later Sir Alec Douglas Home, succeeds Harold MacMillian, later the 1 st Earl of Stockton, as leader of the Tory party and Prime Minister.
William Ross, later Lord Ross of Marnock, is appointed Labour Secretary of State for Scotland.
Sir William Smith Duthie MP, (Independent, Banfshire) has the Conservative whip restored.
Kinross & West Perthshire by-election following the death of Conservative MP Gilmour Leburn. The Tory Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas Home, holds the seat for the Conservatives with a majoriy of 9,328 over the Liberal I.A.D. Millar. Conservatives - 10.8 %, Liberals + 19.5 %, Labour - 1.6 %, Scottish National Party - 7.7 %. Conservative hold at the 1964 general election.
Dundee West by-election following the death of Labour MP John Stratchey, MP for Birmington Aston from 1929 - 1931, Dundee 1945 - 1950, and for Dundee West since 1950. Peter Doig holds the seat for the Labour with a majoriy of 4,955 over the National Liberal & Conservative Dr R. R. Taylor. Labour + 1.0 %, Conservatives - 8.9 %, Scottish National Party (+ 7.4 %), Communist + 0.5 %. Labour hold at the 1964 general election.
Dumfriesshire by-election following the election of Conservative Nial MacPherson to the peerage as 1 st Lord Drumalbyn. David Colville Anderson QC holds the seat for the Conservatives with a majoriy of 971 over Labour's I. Jordan. Conservatives - 17.5 %, Labour - 3.1 %, Liberal (+ 10.9 %), Scottish National Party (+ 9.7 %). Conservative hold (by Hector Monro, later Lord Monro of Langholm) at the 1964 general election.
Rutherglen by-election following the death of Richard Brooman White, Conservative MP since 1951. James Gregor Mackenzie gains the seat for Labour with a majority of 3,747 over Conservative Ian Sproat, later Conservative MP for Aberdeen South. Labour + 7.6 %, Conservative - 7.6 %. Labour hold at the 1964 general election.
The Forth Road Bridge is officially opened by Elizabeth Mountbatten, Queen of Scots.
General election. Labour government under Harold Wilson, later Lord Wilson of Rievaulx. MPs elected in Scotland: Labour 43, Conservative 24, Liberals 4. % of vote: Labour 48.7 %, Conservatives and allies 40.6 %, Liberals 7.6 %, SNP 2.4 %, Communists 0.5 %, others 0.2 %.
Labour gain Glasgow Kelvingrove, Glasgow Pollok and Renfrewshire West from Conservative.
Liberals gain Inverness and Ross & Cromarty from Conservative.
Liberals gain Caithness & Sutherland from Independent.
Death of ex-Conservative Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, onetime Liberal MP for Dundee from 1906 until 1922.
Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebeles by-election following the death of Charles Edward McArthur Donaldson, Conservative MP for Roxburgh & Selkirk from 1951 until 1955 and for Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles from 1955 until 1965. David Martin Scott Steel, later Baron Steel of Aikwood gains the seat for the Liberals with a majority of 4,607 over Conservative R.L. McEwan. Liberal + 10.3 %, Conservative - 4.2 %, Labour - 4.5 %, Independent Nationalist (+ 0.9 %). Liberal hold at the 1966 General election.
The Rt Hon Sir Alec Douglas-Home, previously Lord Dunglass and the 14 th Earl of Home, resigns as leader of the Conservative & Unionist party.
The Rt Hon Edward Heath becomes leader of the Conservative & Unionist party in the first ever Tory leadership election. Heath wins 150 votes compared to 133 for Reginald Maudling and 15 for Enoch Powell. This is the first election since the party declared on 25 th February 1965 that in future party leaders would be elected by MPs.
Labour's Technology Minister, Frank Cousins announces that a nuclear reactor will be built at Dounreay in Caithness.
General election. Labour government under Harold Wilson, later Baron Wilson of Rievaulx. MPs elected in Scotland: Labour 46, Conservative 20, Liberals 5. % of vote: Labour 49.9 %, Conservatives 37.7 %, Liberals 6.8 %, Scottish National Party 5.0 %, Communists 0.6 %, others 0.2 %.
Labour gain Aberdeen South and Berwickshire & East Lothian from the Conservatives.
Labour gain Caithness & Sutherland from the Liberals.
The Liberals gain West Aberdeenshire from the Conservatives.
Gwynfor Evans wins the Welsh seat of Carmarthen seat for Plaid Cymru following the death of the Labour MP, Lady Megan Lloyd George.
Jo Grimond MP (Liberal, Orkney & Shetland), later Lord Gromond, resigns as UK leader of the Liberals. He is replaced the next day by Jeremy Thorpe MP.
Glasgow Pollok by-election following the death of Alexander Garrow, Labour MP since 1964. Professor Edmond Wright gains the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of 2,201 over Labour's Dick Douglas, later MP for Dunfermline. Conservative - 10.7 %, Labour - 21.2 %, Scottish National Party (+ 28.2 %), Liberal (+ 1.9 %), Communist (+ 1.8 %). James White regains the seat for Labour at the 1970 general election.
Peggy Herbison (Labour MP for North Lanarkshire) resigns as Minister of Pensions & National Insurance concerning a disagreement with the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, over social services policy.
The QEII (Queen Elizabeth the second) is launched from John Brown's shipyard at Clydebank.
Hamilton by-election. Winnie Ewing wins the seat for the Scottish National Party with a majoriy of 1,799 over Labour's Alex Wilson. SNP + 46.0 %, Labour - 29.7 %, Conservatives - 16.3 %. Alex Wilson regains the seat for Labour at the 1970 general election.
Winnie Ewing becomes the first SNP MP since 1945 and the first SNP woman MP. Upon her election, Winnie Ewing utters one of the most famous phrases in Scottish politics 'Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on.'
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