The1961 Paisley by-election was a parliamentaryby-election held on 20 April 1961 for theBritish House of Commons constituency ofPaisley in Scotland.
The election was caused by the appointment of the sittingLabour memberDouglas Harold Johnston as a Senator of theCollege of Justice, a judicial post. The candidates wereJohn Robertson for theLabour Party,John Bannerman for theLiberals and G R Rickman for theConservatives. Robertson held the seat for Labour with a reduced majority of 1,658 from the Liberal candidate.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Robertson | 19,200 | 45.35 | −11.95 | |
| Liberal | John Bannerman | 17,542 | 41.43 | New | |
| Unionist | Geoffrey R. Rickman | 5,597 | 13.22 | −29.48 | |
| Majority | 1,658 | 3.92 | −10.69 | ||
| Turnout | 42,339 | 68.10 | −10.78 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | -26.7 | |||