[1] According to the London correspondent for The Glasgow Herald, Anderson had visibly been in failing health during his final session in parliament.
He had collapsed in the House of Commons shortly before his death, but he had insisted on remaining at Westminster so that he could participate in a session of the Scottish Grand Committee scheduled to be held on the morning of 12 February.
[2] For the by-election, Labour chose George Lawson, who was the secretary of Edinburgh Trades Council.
[4] Norman Sloan, an advocate, who had been Anderson's only opponent in 1951 again stood as a Conservative and National Liberal.
[4] The victorious Lawson said that he had fought the election on the issues of rising food prices and "the increasing threat of unemployment, particularly in Scotland and especially in this area", the "callous disregard" for pensioners and people on low incomes and "the failure of private enterprise" to enable British industry to compete with its competitors.