On This Day

October 30, 1939

Death of James Scott, Liberal MP for Kincardine and West Aberdeen 1929-31

Scott had a distinguished legal career serving as a solicitor to the Supreme Courts of Scotland and a member of the interestingly named Game and Heather Burning Committee. He contested a number of constituencies in the 1920s before being narrowly elected in 1929. With the formation of the National Government Scott briefly served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sir Archibald Sinclair, the Secretary of State for Scotland. He was selected to contest Perth in 1934 but the following year when a by-election arose in the constituency Scott was controversially de-selected in favour of Francis Norrie-Miller, a Liberal National, in return for Conservative support. Despite an intervention from Liberal Party HQ in support of Scott, the local Liberals refused to budge and Scott stood down and Norrie-Miller was elected.