Kinross and West Perthshire by-election, 1963

The Kinross and West Perthshire by-election of 7 November 1963 was a by-election to the House of Commons. It was unique among by-elections since 1918 in that one of the candidates was the sitting Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Home; he was nominated for the constituency after disclaiming a peerage, as he felt he needed to be a member of the Commons rather than the House of Lords during his premiership. Douglas-Home won the election.

The by-election was caused when Scottish Office Minister Gilmour Leburn died while on holiday on 15 August 1963. The constituency of Kinross and West Perthshire, a large rural area at the southern end of the Scottish Highlands, was the safest Conservative seat in Scotland (majority 12,248 in 1959) and a plum seat for any Conservative candidate.

On 11 September, the Executive of Kinross and West Perthshire Unionist Association selected Hon. George Younger, an heir of the Scottish aristocracy who was 31 and looking to make a start in national politics. On 11 October the required notice was given to the Speaker of the vacancy (the House being in recess) so that the writ for a new election would be issued. On 17 October the full membership of the Unionist Association adopted Younger as its candidate.

However, the emergence of The Earl of Home as the new Leader of the Conservative Party and his appointment as Prime Minister on 19 October led to a sudden requirement to find him a seat in the House of Commons. Douglas-Home's Scottish ancestry made him look with particular interest at Kinross and West Perthshire; speculation earlier in the week had already linked him with it. On Sunday 20 October, Younger announced his offer to withdraw in favour of Home, an offer which was graciously accepted. Younger was later selected for Ayr, which he represented from 1964 to 1992. On 23 October, Home executed an instrument of disclaimer under the Peerage Act 1963, becoming Sir Alec Douglas-Home. The new session of Parliament was delayed to await the outcome of the by-election.

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