The 1920 Argyllshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Argyllshire on 10 March 1920.
The by-election was caused by the appointment of the sitting Coalition Liberal MP Sir William Sutherland as a Lord of the Treasury. This was an office of appointment under the Crown which enabled Sutherland to take up the post of Scottish Liberal whip but under the constitutional requirements of the day it meant he had to resign and fight a by-election. [1]
As the candidate of the Liberal-Conservative coalition government Sutherland had no Unionist opponent. Neither did he face opposition by the Independent Asquithian Liberals, who chose not to stand a candidate. [2] He was however opposed by the Reverend M MacCallum of Muckairn, Oban for Labour. [3]
Reverend MacCallum was reported as being not only the representative of the Labour Party but also of the Highland Land League. [4] Another candidate representing the Labour and the Highland Land League had been Sutherland's only opponent in Argyllshire at the 1918 general election. [5] Sutherland was fighting on the record of the Coalition government. Given this was a straight fight between the Coalition and Labour it is little surprise that Sutherland sought to portray it as a struggle against socialism and nationalisation and that MacCallum played up the issue of community control against the vested interests ranged against the working class. [6]
The press reported there was little excitement in the constituency on polling day. [7] Perhaps because the combined Liberal and Conservative votes were substantial there seemed little likelihood of an upset. Because of the scattered geography of the constituency it took until 24 March to get all the ballots collected and counted and the result formally declared. [6] Sutherland held the seat with a reduced majority but Labour had nearly doubled its share of the vote.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Liberal | William Sutherland | 10,187 | 64.9 | -16.5 |
| Labour | Malcolm MacCallum | 5,498 | 35.1 | New | |
| Majority | 4,689 | 29.8 | -33.0 | ||
| Turnout | 15,685 | 50.2 | -1.8 | ||
| Liberal hold | Swing | ||||
| Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. | |||||
Alexander Lyle-Samuel was a businessman from Birmingham and Liberal member of the House of Commons. He represented the constituency of Eye in East Suffolk from 1918 until 1923 and was involved in a difficult court case when he was forced to defend himself against a series of allegations made by a defeated political opponent.
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.
The 1920 Stockport by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 27 March 1920 for the constituency of Stockport, in Cheshire.
The 1920 Paisley by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 12 February 1920 for the House of Commons constituency of Paisley in Scotland. It was caused by the death of the constituency's sitting Liberal Member of Parliament Sir John Mills McCallum. Former Prime Minister H.H. Asquith, who was still leader of the Liberal Party but who had lost his seat at the 1918 general election, returned to the Commons.
The 1919 Kingston upon Hull Central by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the 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 1920 Middleton and Prestwich by-election was a by-election held on 22 November 1920 for the British House of Commons constituency of Middleton and Prestwich in Lancashire.
Sir William Ryland Dent Adkins was an English barrister, judge and Liberal politician.
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.
Sir William Sutherland, KCB, PC was a Scottish civil servant, Liberal Party politician and colliery owner. He was closely associated with Prime Minister David Lloyd George serving as his private and press secretary and later as his Parliamentary Private Secretary. He was one of Lloyd George's go-betweens in the sale of honours for the Lloyd George Fund. In his dealings with the press he would certainly have been labelled a spin doctor if that phrase had had currency in the early twentieth century, indeed he has recently been described as "the first of the modern spin doctors".
Edward Anthony Strauss was an English corn, grain and hop merchant of German-Jewish background. He was a Liberal, later Liberal National Member of Parliament.
Thomas Arthur Lewis was a Welsh school teacher, barrister and Liberal Party politician.
John Leng Sturrock was a Scottish newspaper publisher and Liberal politician.
Sir Ronald Wilberforce Allen was an English lawyer and Liberal politician.
Sir John Mills McCallum was a Scottish soap manufacturer and Liberal politician.
The Northampton by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Northampton on 1 April 1920.
The 1940 Argyllshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Argyllshire, on 10 April 1940.
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 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.
The 1919 Spen Valley by-election was held on 20 December 1919. The by-election was held after the death of the incumbent Coalition Liberal MP, Thomas Whittaker. It was won by the Labour candidate, Tom Myers, who had contested the constituency at the 1918 general election. The 1918 contest had been a straight fight between Whittaker and Myers, and had seen the former emerge victorious with a majority of 2,156 votes.