It was unique among by-elections since 1918 in that one of the candidates was the sitting prime minister, 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.

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.

Ian Smith, a 43-year-old former Wing Commander in the Royal Air Force and now garage owner of Callander, stood as an Independent Unionist.

[1] On the eve of poll, Willie Rushton announced that he was retiring from the contest, and endorsed Liberal Party candidate Alistair Duncan Millar, who he thought stood the best chance of defeating Douglas-Home.