1919 St Albans by-election

Last updated

1919 St Albans by-election
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
  1918 10 December 1919 1922  
  Francis Fremantle.jpg Milner Gray crop.jpg
Candidate Fremantle Brown Gray
Party Unionist Labour Liberal
Popular vote9,6218,9082,474
Percentage45.842.411.8

MP before election

Carlile
Unionist

Subsequent MP

Fremantle
Unionist

The 1919 St Albans by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in England in December 1919 for the House of Commons constituency of St Albans in Hertfordshire.

Contents

It was the first contested parliamentary election in St Albans since before World War I. Since the previous contest, in 1910, boundaries had been changed and the franchise extended.

The Coalition Unionists (i.e. Conservatives) held the seat, but by only a narrow margin over the Labour Party, even though Labour had existed in the area for less than 12 months, [1] and St Albans had previously been a Conservative safe seat.

Vacancy

The by-election was held to fill the vacancy caused when the 67-year-old [2] Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) Sir Hildred Carlile resigned from the House of Commons on 20 November 1919 by the procedural device of accepting appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead. [3] Carlile, who had held the seat since the 1906 general election [2] (and was returned unopposed in 1918 [4] ), cited ill-health as the reason for his departure from politics. [5]

Electoral history

The result at the last General Election in 1918 was;

1918 general election [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
C Unionist Hildred Carlile Unopposed
Unionist hold
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

The previous election was contested and produced this result:

General election, December 1910 [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist Hildred Carlile 6,899 59.1 +1.0
Liberal R. C. Phillimore4,77740.91.0
Majority2,12218.2+2.0
Turnout 11,67683.8−6.6
Unionist hold Swing +1.0

Candidates

The Conservative Party selected as its candidate 47-year-old Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Fremantle, who had previously been adopted as the party's candidate for the next general election, when Hildred Carlile was expected to retire. [5] Fremantle was an army doctor who had served in the Second Boer War and in World War I, and had been a member of the London County Council since March 1919. The son of a Dean of Ripon, [7] he had been a medical officer for Hertfordshire for 14 years. [8]

Early reports suggested that the Liberal Party candidate would be a Major Conacher from New Barnet, [5] but in the event the Liberals nominated Milner Gray, [9] a company director who had stood unsuccessfully in Wellingborough at the 1918 general election. [9]

The Labour Party candidate was John W. Brown, [9] the secretary of the Shipping Clerks' Guild. [5]

The Times reported on 28 November that there was "possibility, but not a probability" of a fourth candidate, from the right-wing National Party, [9] but this did not materialise. [10]

Nominations closed on 2 December, with polling set for 10 December. [10]

Electorate

The old parliamentary borough of St Albans, which returned two MPs, had been disenfranchised in 1852 after a Royal Commission had found proof of extensive bribery. [11] Deprived of its independent representation, the borough had then been represented as part of the three-seat Hertfordshire a county constituency. [11] When the county constituency was divided in 1885, four new single-member county divisions were created, named after the major town in each area: the St Albans division was one of them, initially including the areas of High Barnet, Borehamwood, Elstree, Welwyn, Wheathampstead, and Harpenden. It had returned Conservative MPs at every opportunity since the 1885 general election, [12] apart from a two-year interlude when the Liberal Party won a by-election in 1904. [12]

However, the last contested election in the constituency had been in December 1910, and the electorate had changed significantly in 1918. The Representation of the People Act 1918 had nearly tripled the electorate nationally [13] by expanding the franchise to include all adult males and women over 30 who met certain conditions, [14] while boundary changes in the same Act had seen Radlett, Hemel Hempstead and Harpenden moved out of the constituency, [9] Radlett and Hemel Hemsptead having been seen as Conservative strongholds. [9] The result was an increase from 13,929 electors when the seat was last contested in December 1910 [12] to 23,885 at the by-election: [4] a constituency shorn of some of the support base of the incumbent party, where most of the electors would be voting for the first time.

There was a large agricultural sector in the constituency, and major residential areas in the towns of St Albans and at Barnet. [9] Labour looked for its support to the railway-dominated town of Hatfield and amongst workers in Barnet and St Albans. [9]

Campaign

For the Liberals, Gray campaigned for free trade to combat high prices and increase production. [9] He wanted to see an end to government control, [9] and opposed the Anti-Dumping Bill, which he described as a measure to foster higher prices. [15]

Fremantle's main theme was "peace at home". [9] He backed the Government of Ireland Bill, and hoped for cross-party backing for it, but noted that since the Coalition Government had left "no organised opposition worth speaking of" in the House of Commons, the government "must receive its criticism from the inside". [9] He pledged an independent attitude. [9]

Brown sought the support of manual workers and trade unionists, particularly amongst the employees of the Great Northern Railway and the Midland Railway. [10] However, he also targeted non-manual workers such as teachers, clerks and city employees who had been hard-hit by profiteering during the war. [10]

All three candidates were supported by high-profile speakers. The former Home Secretary Herbert Samuel spoke for Gray, [15] while Nancy Astor came to back Fremantle, [15] who also received a letter of support from the Conservative leader Bonar Law. [15] Brown was joined by the dramatist and Fabian George Bernard Shaw, [10] and by the former ministers Sir Leo Chiozza Money [10] and Arthur Henderson. [9]

However, The Times noted on 1 December that although all three candidates were extremely active, "it cannot be said that the electorate are showing the amount of interest that might be desired". [8] In the early days of contest, Liberal meetings were disrupted by hecklers, but this died away as the campaign progressed. The Times reported on 5 December that indoor meetings were the most successful; open-air speakers received a tiny audience. [15]

Result

After polling on 10 December, the result was not announced until 23 December, [1] when the Unionist Fremantle was declared the winner with 45.8% of the votes, closely followed by Labour's Brown with 42.4%. [4] Gray lost his deposit [1] of £150, [14] because his 11.8% Liberal share of votes fell below the threshold of one-eight of the votes. [1]

F.E. Fremantle Francis Edward Fremantle.jpg
F.E. Fremantle
December 1919 St Albans by-election [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
C Unionist Francis Fremantle 9,62145.8N/A
Labour John W. Brown 8,90842.4New
Liberal Milner Gray 2,47411.8New
Majority7133.4N/A
Turnout 21,00362.8N/A
Unionist hold Swing N/A
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

In speeches after the count, Fremantle pronounced himself pleased with the result, and said that voters had sent a message of support to the Coalition for carrying on government "in accordance with the great traditions of the British Empire". [1] Brown said that he was delighted with the result, which showed that the professional classes were coming round to supporting Labour; [1] and Gray said that he could take defeat in a sportsmanlike manner. [1]

Aftermath

After his by-election victory, Fremantle held the seat at the following General Election in 1922.

1922 general election [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist Francis Fremantle 14,594 57.8 +12.0
Labour John William Brown10,66242.2-0.2
Majority3,93215.6+12.2
Turnout 25,25671.1+8.3
Unionist hold Swing +6.1

He kept it for the next 24 years, [2] until his death in August 1943. [7] He spoke frequently on medical issues in Parliament, and was knighted in 1922. [7] The slim Unionist majority at the by-election was not repeated: a 15.6% margin at the 1922 general election was followed by a 21.2% majority in 1923, and in 1931 Frematle's majority was a massive 56.2%. [4] St Albans remained a safe seat for the Conservatives until it was narrowly won by Labour in 1945. [4]

Gray contested Bedford unsuccessfully in 1923, [16] but won the Mid Bedfordshire seat at the 1929 general election. [17] He served briefly as a junior minister in 1931, but lost his seat at the 1931 general election, and never returned to Parliament. He served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Liberal Party for 6 years, was made a CBE in 1937. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Albans (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 onwards

St Albans is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Daisy Cooper, a Liberal Democrat.

Wednesbury was a borough constituency in England's Black Country which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.

The 1920 Louth by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Louth in Lincolnshire. Voting was held on 3 June 1920. The by-election took place five days after the Louth Flood of 29 May 1920 had claimed 23 lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy Harris (politician)</span> British politician (1876–1952)

Sir Percy Alfred Harris, 1st Baronet, PC was a British Liberal Party politician. He was Liberal Chief Whip and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Parliamentary Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milner Gray (politician)</span>

Milner Gray was a British Liberal politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Fremantle</span>

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Francis Edward Fremantle, OBE, DL, FRCS, FRCP was a British physician and Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans from 1919 until his death.

The Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central on 16 April 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1922 Bodmin by-election</span>

The 1922 Bodmin by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons. The constituency of Bodmin in Cornwall polled on 23 February 1922. The by-election was notable for the opposition Liberal Party gaining a seat from the Coalition-supporting Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Wilberforce Allen</span>

Sir Ronald Wilberforce Allen was an English lawyer and Liberal politician.

The 1943 St Albans by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in England in October 1943 for the House of Commons constituency of St Albans in Hertfordshire.

The 1917 Spalding by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the House of Commons constituency of Spalding in Lincolnshire on 25 October 1917.

The 1919 Manchester Rusholme by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in October 1919 for the British House of Commons constituency of Manchester Rusholme. The by-election was important for shaping the future Labour Party attitude to electoral relations with the Liberal Party.

The Glasgow Tradeston by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 6 July 1911. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Crewe by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 26 July 1912. The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The 1926 Howdenshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Howdenshire in Yorkshire on 25 November 1926.

The 1920 Woodbridge by-election was held on 28 July 1920. The by-election was held due to the resignation of the incumbent Coalition Unionist MP, Robert Francis Peel. It was won by the Coalition Unionist candidate Sir Arthur Churchman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1928 Ilford by-election</span>

The 1928 Ilford by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Ilford, London on 23 February 1928.

The 1920 Basingstoke by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Basingstoke on 31 March 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1920 Camberwell North West by-election</span>

The 1920 Camberwell North West by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Camberwell North West in the South London district of Camberwell on 31 March 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Reiss</span>

Richard Leopold Reiss, was a British Liberal Party politician who later joined the Labour Party. He was Director of the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust Ltd. He was awarded the Order of St Olav of Norway. In 1948 he was awarded the Howard Memorial Medal for outstanding services to town planning.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Large Labour Vote At St. Albans, Seat Held By Coalition, The Times, Wednesday 24 December 1919, page 10
  2. 1 2 3 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 1)
  3. Department of Information Services (14 January 2010). "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850" (PDF). House of Commons Library . Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 375. ISBN   0-900178-06-X.
  5. 1 2 3 4 By-election at St Albans: Sir E.H. Carlile to retire through ill-health, The Times, 21 November 1919, page 9
  6. 1 2 3 4 British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  7. 1 2 3 Obituary: Sir Francis Fremantle, Medicine and Politics, The Times, August 28, 1943, p. 7
  8. 1 2 St. Albans By-Election: Coalition Candidate's Prospects, The Times, Tuesday 2 December 1919, page 16
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 St. Albans Campaign Opened Four Candidates Possible, The Times, Friday 28 November 1919, page 16
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 St. Albans Nominations: Three-Cornered Contest, The Times, Wednesday 3 December 1919, page 16
  11. 1 2 Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 261. ISBN   0-900178-26-4.
  12. 1 2 3 Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 297. ISBN   0-900178-27-2.
  13. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (2006). British Electoral Facts. London: Total Politics. p. 88. ISBN   978-1-907278-03-7.
  14. 1 2 Rallings and Thrasher, page 104
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 The St. Albans Vacancy: Support for Labour Candidate, The Times, Friday 5 December 1919, page 16
  16. Craig, British parliamentary election results 1918–1949, p. 289
  17. "No. 33508". The London Gazette . 21 June 1929. p. 4106.
  18. Obituary: Milner Gray, The Times, Monday 12 April 1943, page 6