William Mitchell (barrister)

William Mitchell KC (1872-22 February 1937) was a Scottish advocate and Liberal Party politician. He was Sheriff-substitute of Selkirkshire.

Background

Mitchell was born in Keith, Banffshire, the son of George and Kathryn Mitchell. He was educated at Keith Grammar School and the Universities of Aberdeen, where he gained an MA and Edinburgh where he received an LLB.[1] He was a Vans Dunlop Scholar in Scots Law and Conveyancing.[2] He died at Galashiels on 22 February 1937.[3]

Professional career

Mitchell was Examiner for degrees in legal subjects at Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities. In 1897 he was called to Scots bar.[1] He was Advocate Depute for several years. He was Sheriff-Substitute of Selkirkshire from 1930 until his death in 1937. In 1930 he wrote 'Prince Charles Edward Stewart of Scotland and the Rising of 1745'.[2]

Political career

Mitchell was National Liberal candidate for the Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire division at the 1922 General Election.[4] He was a supporter of David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the Coalition Government.[5] He ran against the sitting Liberal MP, who was an opposition Liberal, but failed to unseat him. In 1923 the two opposing Liberal factions re-united under the leadership of H. H. Asquith. Mitchell was Liberal candidate for the Peebles and Southern Midlothian division at the 1923 General Election. This was a Labour seat that the Liberals had lost in 1922, coming third. He was unable to improve on that position. Soon after, he was Liberal candidate for the Peebles and Southern Midlothian division at the 1924 General Election. Despite this election being a difficult one for the Liberal Party, he was able to marginally increase the Liberal vote. He was Liberal candidate for the Edinburgh North division at the 1929 General Election.[5] Lloyd George travelled to Edinburgh to help Mitchell's campaign, stopping at Mitchell's home in King Street.[6] The Liberals had won the seat in 1923 but finished third in 1924. Despite increasing the Liberal vote share, he was unable to improve on third place. He did not stand for parliament again.[7]

Electoral record
General Election 1922: Kincardine & Western Aberdeenshire [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Hon. Arthur Cecil Murray 6,224 62.3 n/a
National Liberal William Mitchell 3,767 37.7 n/a
Majority 2,457 24.6 n/a
Turnout 44.6 n/a
Liberal hold Swing n/a
General Election 1923: Peebles and Southern Midlothian [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph C. Westwood 7,882 43.0 +7.0
Unionist Archibald Crawford 6,203 33.8 +0.1
Liberal William Mitchell 4,245 23.2 -7.1
Majority 1,679 9.2 +6.9
Turnout 76.9 +1.2
Labour hold Swing +3.4
General Election 1924: Peebles and Southern Midlothian [10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph C. Westwood 7,797 40.8 -2.2
Unionist Charles William Baillie-Hamilton 6,723 35.3 +1.5
Liberal William Mitchell 4,550 23.9 +0.7
Majority 1,074 5.5 -3.7
Turnout 78.8 +1.9
Labour hold Swing -1.8
General Election 1929: Edinburgh North [7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir Patrick Johnstone Ford 13,993 39.7 -9.6
Labour Miss E Stewart 11,340 32.2 +4.3
Liberal William Mitchell 9,877 28.1 +5.4
Majority 2,653 7.5 -13.9
Turnout 35,210 73.8
Unionist hold Swing -6.9

References
  1. "New Sheriff-Substitute. Appointment of Mr William Mitchell K.C." The Glasgow Herald. 16 October 1930. p. 11. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  2. ‘MITCHELL, William’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 17 Feb 2016
  3. University of Edinburgh Journal, 1937
  4. "Parliamentary Election". Aberdeen Journal. 9 November 1922. Retrieved 17 February 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Edinburgh North. Triangular Fight. Industrial constituency of the city". The Glasgow Herald. 14 May 1929. p. 8. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  6. "Mr Lloyd George. Today's Edinburgh speech". The Glasgow Herald. 3 May 1929. p. 13. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  7. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  8. The Times, 17 November 1922
  9. The Times, 8 December 1923
  10. Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
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