A by-election for Dumfriesshire was held on 12 December 1963, after the sitting MP, Niall Macpherson, was elevated to the peerage as Lord Drumalbyn.[1] Macpherson had been elected in 1959 as a National Liberal and Unionist, the latter label being that used by Conservatives in Scotland at this time.[2] Macpherson had first been elected as a National Liberal in 1945.[3] At the last election Macpherson had polled over 58% of the votes cast in a two-way fight against a Labour candidate and gaining a majority of 7,430 votes.[1]
The by-election was won by David Anderson who retained it for the Conservatives, by only 971 votes, a sign that the Conservative government was losing support. Anderson stood down at the 1964 general election, only serving as an MP for less than a year.