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The 1919 Kingston upon Hull Central by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Kingston upon Hull Central on 29 March 1919. The by-election was the fifth to be held during the 1918-1922 parliament.
The seat had become vacant when the Coalition Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Sir Mark Sykes died on 16 February 1919 aged 39, a victim of the Spanish flu pandemic. He had held the seat since winning the 1911 Kingston upon Hull Central by-election on 5 July 1911.
The result at the last general election in 1918 was;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Unionist | Mark Sykes | 13,805 | 80.1 | +28.6 |
| Liberal | Roderick Kedward | 3,434 | 19.9 | -28.6 | |
| Majority | 10,371 | 60.2 | +57.2 | ||
| Turnout | 17,239 | 54.9 | -31.2 | ||
| Unionist hold | Swing | ||||
| Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. | |||||
Polling Day was set for 29 March 1919, 41 days after the death of the former MP. Nominations closed to confirm that the election would be a two-way contest.
Percy immediately received the official endorsement of the Coalition Government.
As with the Leyton West by-election 6 weeks earlier, the dominant issue of the campaign was the idea being floated by the Coalition Government of retaining Conscription during peacetime. Kenworthy took a strong line in opposition to continuing conscription. He also argued against the imposition of impossible reparations against Germany. Percy's campaign did little other than express support for the Coalition Government. [2]
According to reports in The Times newspaper, the by-election proved largely uneventful and the parties were expecting a small poll. [3] In the event there was a turnout of 51% which although on the lower end of the spectrum for by-elections of the day, was not the lowest experienced during the 1918–1922 Parliament. [4] Popular opinion was swinging against the coalition government of David Lloyd George and Bonar Law and particularly against the Conservative half of the coalition. [5] As a result, the Liberal candidate, Joseph Kenworthy, gained the seat for his party with a majority of 917 over his Coalition Conservative opponent, Lord Eustace Percy.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Joseph Kenworthy | 8,616 | 52.8 | +32.9 | |
| C | Unionist | Eustace Percy | 7,699 | 47.2 | -32.9 |
| Majority | 917 | 5.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 16,315 | 51.9 | -3.0 | ||
| Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +32.9 | |||
| Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. | |||||
British Pathe has newsreel footage of Joseph Kenworthy taken after his election victory. http://www.britishpathe.com/video/commander-kenworthy/query/election
Kenworthy went on to hold the seat for the Liberals at the subsequent general election. The result at the following general election in 1922 was;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Joseph Kenworthy | 15,374 | 55.5 | +2.7 | |
| Unionist | Herbert William Looker | 12,347 | 44.5 | -2.7 | |
| Majority | 3,027 | 11.0 | +5.4 | ||
| Turnout | 27,721 | 79.1 | +27.2 | ||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +2.7 | |||
Percy was to find electoral success elsewhere and go on to sit in the Conservative Cabinet of Stanley Baldwin. The proposal for retaining Conscription during peacetime was quickly dropped.
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