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The 1925 Walsall by-election was held on 27 February 1925. The by-election was held due to the disqualification of the incumbent Unionist MP, William Preston. It was retained by Preston. [1]
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The 1925 Walsall by-election was held on 27 February 1925. The by-election was held due to the disqualification of the incumbent Unionist MP, William Preston. It was retained by Preston. [1]
The by-election was caused by the disqualification of the sitting Unionist MP, William Preston. He had only been an MP since the General Election of 1924. However, following his election, it was discovered that Preston had received payments for two small contracts to supply electrical fittings to the Post Office Stores Department. As a government contractor, Preston was ineligible to stand for parliament, and his election was declared void. [2]
The constituency was created for the 1832 general election. Over the years, the seat frequently changed hands between Liberal and Conservative. The Labour Party first ran a candidate in 1918. The Liberal Pat Collins had won in both 1922 and 1923 before Preston won in 1924;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | William Preston | 15,168 | 37.9 | +0.1 | |
| Liberal | Pat Collins | 12,734 | 31.8 | -11.7 | |
| Labour | Lothian Small | 11,474 | 28.7 | +10.0 | |
| Independent | J J Lynch | 622 | 1.6 | n/a | |
| Majority | 6.1 | ||||
| Turnout | |||||
| Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | ||||
The confidence within Liberal Party ranks was not high following the 1924 general election when they were reduced to just 40 MPs. Among the defeated was their leader H.H. Asquith. Lloyd George had been elected the Chairman of the Liberal Parliamentary party. On 21 February, although suffering illness, Lloyd George spoke at Walsall Town Hall in front of 2,500 people, in support of Macnamara. [7]
The result was almost identical to the result at the 1924 general election, with little change in the vote share of the three parties;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | William Preston | 14,793 | 38.2 | +0.3 | |
| Liberal | Thomas James Macnamara | 12,300 | 31.8 | 0.0 | |
| Labour | Lothian Small | 11,610 | 30.0 | +1.3 | |
| Majority | 2,493 | 6.4 | +0.3 | ||
| Turnout | 38,703 | 83.4 | |||
| Unionist hold | Swing | +0.1 | |||
Preston was only a member of the House of Commons for one term. At the 1929 general election there was a swing to Labour, and he was defeated by that party's candidate;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John James McShane | 20,524 | 39.6 | +9.6 | |
| Unionist | William Preston | 15,818 | 30.6 | -7.6 | |
| Liberal | Thomas James Macnamara | 15,425 | 29.8 | -2.0 | |
| Majority | 4,706 | 9.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 51,767 | 85.9 | +2.5 | ||
| Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +8.6 | |||
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