The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, William Hutchison.
[1] Glasgow Kelvingrove had been held by the Unionist Party (as the Conservatives stood at elections in Scotland under that name) since 1918.
[2] However at the 1923 general election, the Unionist majority had been cut to just over 1,000 votes, by far the closest result in the seat up to that point.
[2] The Unionists selected Walter Elliot, who had lost his seat at the 1923 general election, and had previously been Under Secretary of Health for Scotland in the last Conservative Government.
However, according to F. W. S. Craig the Labour Party's annual Conference Report for 1924 recorded that owing to "developments during the campaign it had been found impossible to render further support.