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Revision as of 10:26, 8 July 2019
Major Sir Murdoch McKenzie Wood OBE, DL (19 July 1881[1][2] – 11 October 1949) was a Scottish Liberal politician.
Background
He was the second son of James Wood of Cullen, Banffshire, and Christina McKenzie.[1] He was educated at Fordyce Academy and Edinburgh University. He was awarded the OBE in 1919. In 1924 he married Muriel Davis. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Banffshire and was knighted in 1932.[3]
Professional career
He received a call to the bar by Gray's Inn in 1910. He was on the editorial staff of the Daily Mail. In World War I he served with the Gordon Highlanders and was severely wounded. He later served with the administrative staff of the Royal Air Force.[3]
Political career
He was the unsuccessful Liberal Party parliamentary candidate for the Unionist seat of Ayr Burghs in 1918 where the intervention of a Labour Party candidate prevented what would otherwise have been a rare gain for the Liberals;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Sir George Younger | 9,565 | 49.1 | ||
Liberal | Maj. Murdoch McKenzie Wood | 5,410 | 27.7 | ||
Labour | Campbell Stephen | 4,534 | 23.2 | n/a | |
Turnout | 62.2 | ||||
Majority | 4,155 | 21.4 | |||
Unionist hold | Swing |
He entered Parliament as Liberal MP for Aberdeenshire Central at a by-election in April 1919. This was a notable gain for the opposition Liberals against a Unionist candidate supported by the Coalition Government;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Murdoch McKenzie Wood | 4,950 | 37.5 | −9.9 | |
Unionist | Leybourne Francis Watson Davidson | 4,764 | 36.1 | −16.5 | |
Labour | Joseph Forbes Duncan | 3,482 | 26.4 | +26.4 | |
Majority | 186 | 1.4 | 6.6 | ||
Turnout | 50.1 | − | |||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +3.3 |
He was comfortably re-elected at the following general election;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Murdoch McKenzie Wood | 9,779 | 60.1 | +22.6 | |
Unionist | Robert Workman Smith | 6,481 | 39.9 | +3.8 | |
Majority | 3,298 | 20.2 | +13.6 | ||
Turnout | 16,260 | 56.9 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | +6.8 |
Following re-union between Asquith and Lloyd George, he was comfortably re-elected at the next election;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Murdoch McKenzie Wood | 9,818 | 53.6 | ||
Unionist | Robert Workman Smith | 8,507 | 46.4 | ||
Majority | 1,311 | 7.2 | |||
Turnout | 64.7 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing |
He served as the Scottish Liberal Whip from 1923–1924.[8] At the following general election, a Labour candidate intervened and split the anti-Unionist vote, which cost him his seat;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Sir Robert Workman Smith | 9,130 | 44.4 | −2.0 | |
Liberal | Murdoch McKenzie Wood | 7,639 | 37.2 | ||
Labour | J. Newman | 3,791 | 18.4 | ||
Majority | 1,491 | 7.2 | |||
Turnout | 71.7 | +7.0 | |||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing |
He switched to contest Banffshire for the 1929 United Kingdom general election. He comfortably re-gained a seat the Liberals had lost in 1924;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Murdoch McKenzie Wood | 9,278 | 44.3 | ||
Unionist | William Paterson Templeton | 6,720 | 32.0 | ||
Labour | Alasdair Alpin MacGregor | 4,982 | 23.7 | ||
Turnout | 63.8 | ||||
Majority | 2,558 | 12.3 | |||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing |
In 1931, following the formation of the National Government, he was returned unopposed at the general election as a supporter of the new administration. He was an unpaid Assistant Government Whip from 1931–1932. When the Liberal party left the National Government he continued in the role of Scottish Liberal Whip from 1932–1934. In 1935 he was defeated at Banffshire;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Sir John Edmund Ritchie Findlay | 11,771 | 51.3 | n/a | |
Liberal | Sir Murdoch McKenzie Wood | 11,168 | 48.7 | n/a | |
Turnout | 70.5 | n/a | |||
Majority | 603 | 2.6 | n/a | ||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | n/a |
He did not stand for parliament again.[5]
External links
References
- ^ a b Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
- ^ London, England, Freedom of the City Admission Papers, 1681-1930
- ^ a b 'WOOD, Major Sir Murdoch McKenzie', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Oct 2012 accessed 22 April 2014
- ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
- ^ a b British parliamentary election results 1918–1949, Craig, F.W.S.
- ^ The Times, 17 November 1922
- ^ The Times, 8 December 1923
- ^ The Times House of Commons, 1929
- ^ Oliver and Boyd's Edinburgh Almanack, 1927
- ^ The Times, 1 June 1929
- ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
- 1881 births
- 1949 deaths
- Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
- Deputy Lieutenants of Banffshire
- Gordon Highlanders officers
- Knights Bachelor
- Scottish Liberal Party MPs
- People educated at Fordyce Academy
- Royal Air Force officers
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- UK MPs 1918–1922
- UK MPs 1922–1923
- UK MPs 1923–1924
- UK MPs 1929–1931
- UK MPs 1931–1935
- Freemen of the City of London