James Rankin Rutherford

James Rankin Rutherford

James Rankin Rutherford CBE JP (1882 – 20 September 1967) was a Scottish Liberal Party politician. He was the Provost of Kirkintilloch 1931−33 and Convener of the County Council 1939-1945.

Background

Rutherford was educated at Lenzie Academy, Dunbartonshire. In 1915 he married Helen Warren. They had two sons and two daughters. His son Sandy went on to also take an interest in local government.^[1] Rutherford was awarded the CBE in the 1945 New Year Honours.^[2][3]

Political career

In 1918 he was elected to Kirkintilloch Town Council in Dunbartonshire. Rutherford was Liberal candidate at the Aberdeen North by-election, 1928. This was not a promising seat; there had been no Liberal candidate at the previous general election, the last Liberal candidate came third and a Liberal had not won since 1910. On top of that, the Labour candidate seeking to hold the seat was former Liberal MP, William Wedgwood Benn. He finished fourth, behind the Communist candidate. He was then Liberal candidate for the Kilmarnock division of Ayrshire at the 1929 General Election. This was a Unionist/Labour marginal seat. No Liberal had stood in 1924 but one had come second in 1923. He polled just over 21% of the vote and came third. Within a few months there was a by-election but Rutherford declined an invitation to stand.^[4] He did not stand for parliament again.^[5]

Rutherford continued to be active in municipal politics at Kirkintilloch. In 1930 he was elected to Dunbartonshire County Council. In 1931 he was appointed Provost of Kirkintilloch, serving a two-year term.^[6] By 1931 the depression was affecting Scotland, at the request of the Chancellor of the Exchequer an Economic Committee was set up and Rutherford was appointed to represent the Royal Burghs.^[7] The Committee on Local Expenditure (Scotland), also known as the Lovat Committee, reported later that year. They had looked at local expenditure and made recommendations covering: education, roads and bridges, police, housing, public assistance and public health. Rutherford continued to work with the Economic Committee, going on to look at planning and recommending in 1938 that Scotland have national planning body to assist development.^[8][9] In 1939 Rutherford was elected Convener of the County Council, serving for six years.^[10] He became a member of the Scottish Council on Industry, when it formed 1942.^[11]

Electoral record

By-election, Aug 1928: Aberdeen North[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wedgwood Benn	10,646	52.5
	Unionist	Dr Laura Sandeman	4,696	23.1
	Communist	Aitken Ferguson	2,618	12.9	n/a
	Liberal	James Rankin Rutherford	2,337	11.5	n/a
Majority			5,950
Turnout				56.8	-7.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election, May 1929: Kilmarnock
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Climie	17,368	48.2	+0.4
	Unionist	Charles Glen MacAndrew	10,939	30.4	−21.8
	Liberal	James Rankin Rutherford	7,700	21.4	N/A
Majority			6,429	17.8	N/A
Turnout			36,007	77.8	−0.7
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+11.2

References

1. "Obituary: Alexander C Rutherford". The Scotsman. 16 June 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
2. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36866. p. 27. 29 December 1944. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
3. ‘RUTHERFORD, James Rankin’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 10 Sept 2015
4. "Liberals not to fight. The Kilmarnock by-election. Divisional council’s decision.". The Glasgow Herald. 1 November 1929. p. 11. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
5. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F.W.S.
6. "People: Portraits: J. R. Rutherford". East Dunbartonshire Photo Library. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
7. "Convention of the Burghs. Members appointed to economy committee.". The Glasgow Herald. 16 July 1932. p. 8. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
8. "Central Planning Authority for Scotland. Convention of Burghs and Future of Country’s Industry". The Glasgow Herald. 4 March 1938. p. 15. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
9. "National Planning Body for Scotland. Suggestion by Economic Committee. "Something like 'shape of things to come'"". The Glasgow Herald. p. 14. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
10. ‘RUTHERFORD, James Rankin’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 10 Sept 2015
11. "Industrial future of Scotland. Council’s first meeting in Edinburgh". The Glasgow Herald. 21 February 1942. p. 20. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
12. The Times, 18 August 1928