An Odious Campaign'

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. What should have been a formality became a bitter and extraordinary by-election. Enraged by this apparent attempt to foist a former Labour MP on them, the local Liberal and Unionist Associations decided to field independent candidates. The Unionists’ choice of candidate – Randolph Churchill, son of Winston Churchill – proved explosive.