Why Winston Churchill lost his seat as MP for Dundee

Dundee was regarded by Winston Churchill as a “seat for life”, but his time as MP for the city came to an end 100 years ago with a crushing defeat.

Dundee was among five constituencies Churchill represented during a parliamentary career that spanned an extraordinary 64 years.

He was elected as a Liberal in 1908, polling 7,079 votes, while the Conservative and Labour candidates split 8,384 votes between them.

Churchill remained MP for Dundee for more than 14 years, during which time he almost continuously served as a minister in Cabinet.

However, his relationship with the populace became strained after the First World War over issues such as votes for women, his anti-socialist rhetoric and his stance on Irish home rule.

Also, he was stricken with appendicitis in the run-up to the 1922 election, which limited his campaigning.

He finished fourth in a vote topped by prohibitionist Edwin Scrymgeour and Frenchborn Edmund Dene Morel, who both earned berths at Westminster for the first time.

Churchill later wrote: “I found myself without an office, without a seat, without a party and without an appendix.”

Scrymgeour’s first act at Westminster was to table private member’s bills calling for the closure of all pubs and a penalty of five years’ imprisonment for anyone caught trafficking alcohol.

Scrymgeour also wanted alcohol being used for medicinal purposes to be labelled poison.

His triumph over Churchill was all the more remarkable because, at the time, Dundee was considered a Liberal city.

A remarkable 80% of the city’s voters, totalling 118,167, participated in the poll, which took place on November 15 1922.

Churchill’s defeat was announced on November 16.

He was out of parliament for almost two years after his defeat and apparently never forgave the snub, refusing the freedom of the city in 1943.

In Cheers, Mr Churchill! Winston In Scotland, Edinburgh-based author and historian Andrew Liddle details the future statesman’s highs and lows in Dundee.

He said: “Churchill’s defeat to Scrymgeour in the 1922 general election was the result of a mix of local, national and personal factors.

“Locally, the base that had sustained Churchill over his previous five election victories in Dundee – the working-class and immigrant Irish communities – deserted him.

“This was partly due to his bellicose opposition to Bolshevik Russia and – despite being an avid supporter of home rule for

Ireland – his role in the founding of the Black and Tans during the Anglo-irish War.

“But national factors also played a significant role.

“Churchill’s Liberal Party was not only divided but there were actually two versions of the party, one led by Lloyd George and one led by Asquith – competing against each other.

“This, along with Lloyd George’s lack of a national political platform – he produced no election manifesto, for instance – helped to erode the Liberal vote. Equally, with universal male suffrage, Labour was also in a strong position to make gains.

“Personally, Churchill was also at a disadvantage having suffered appendicitis in the days before the general election was called, leaving him bed-ridden in London for all but the final few days of the campaign in Dundee.

“Clementine, his wife, campaigned ably in his stead, but it was clearly a disadvantage nevertheless.

“This was all the more remarkable as she had her two-month-old baby, Mary, with her.

“At the same time, Scrymgeour was completely indefatigable and had worked the seat relentlessly in the near-15 years since he was first humbled by Churchill at the 1908 by-election.

“That commitment finally paid dividends at the sixth attempt in 1922.”

Local legend often has it that Churchill and Clementine were run out of Dundee 100 years ago, but actually, Andrew insists, that is very far from the truth.

He said: “Even in defeat, Churchill received the support of more than 20,000 Dundonians.

“Of course, he was disappointed by his defeat – as any candidate would be, particularly when they’ve represented a place for almost 15 years.

“But far from being run out of Dundee, after the result was announced to the crowd on Shore Terrace, from a window in the Caird Hall, Churchill made his way to the city’s Liberal Association, where he made a speech thanking his supporters, but also praising Scrymgeour.”

In his speech, Churchill said he did not grudge the victory of a man “who stood for endurance and also for moral, orderly conceptions of democratic reform and action”.

After the speech, Churchill and Clementine collected their belongings from the Royal Terrace Hotel before taking the sleeper train home to London.

They were seen off by a crowd of cheering students, who said they still believed in Churchill despite his defeat.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL: Winston Churchill in Dundee during his unsuccessful last election campaign in the city in 1922.

Edwin and Mrs Scrymgeour being seen off to London after he had taken the Dundee seat.