The 1922 Liverpool Exchange by-election was a by-election held in England for the British House of Commons constituency of Liverpool Exchange on 13 March 1922.
This was a ministerial by-election, held under laws in force until 1926 which required an MP appointed to government to seek re-election. The Conservative Party candidate Leslie Scott was re-elected.
The seat had become vacant on 9 March 1922 when the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), Leslie Scott had been appointed as Solicitor General for England and Wales. [1] He had held the seat since the December 1910 general election. [2] [3]
While Scott's appointment was not Gazetted until 9 March, [1] it had been announced on 6 March. [4] On Wednesday 8 March, the Irish Nationalist Party in Liverpool decided to contest the seat. The Nationalist candidate A. Harford had been Scott's only opponent in 1918, when he had won 44.4% of the votes, [5] and a delegation was sent to ask Harford to stand again. [5] The independent Liberals who had remained outside David Lloyd George's Conservative-dominated coalition government were initially undecided on whether to contest the election, [5] and Scott addressed the local Coalition Liberals to seek their support. [5]
Nominations were set for 13 March, and polling for 22 March. [6] However, on Sunday 12 March, the Nationalists decided not to contest the seat, and when nominations closed, Scott was the only candidate. [7]
Since only one candidate was nominated, there was no need for a vote. Scott was returned unopposed. [2] [7]
Scott was knighted on 31 March that year, [8] but served for only 6 months as Solicitor General. He retired from Parliament at the 1929 general election, and after returning to his legal practice he became a judge in 1935.