1927 Leith by-election

Last updated

There was a 1927 by-election for the UK House of Commons constituency of Leith , which took place on Wednesday, 23 March 1927.

Contents

Previous MP

When David Lloyd George replaced H. H. Asquith as Leader of the Liberal Party, the Liberal MP, William Wedgwood Benn decided to cross the floor from the Liberal Party and switch to the Labour Party. Benn believed that his change of party allegiances warranted him resigning his seat and seeking re-election.

Previous result

General election, 29 October 1924 Electorate: 39,480
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal William Wedgwood Benn 16,569 59.6 −4.9
Labour Robert Freeman Wilson11,25040.4+4.9
Majority5,31919.2−9.8
Turnout 27,81970.5+11.4
Liberal hold Swing -4.9

Candidates

Benn had been the Liberal MP for Leith since the khaki election of 1918 and was keen to stand for election as a Labour candidate. However, the Leith Constituency Labour Party did not want him as their candidate, so Benn did not contest the by-election. [1] The Leith CLP selected R.F. Wilson as their candidate. He was a local socialist who had stood against Benn at the two previous general elections. The Conservatives, who had not contested the seat since 1918, selected Allan Beaton. He was one of the Scottish Conservatives most experienced candidates. [2] He had contested the safe Labour seat of Edinburgh Central at the previous general election in 1924. The Leith Liberal Association struggled to find a Liberal candidate prepared to defend a seat under such difficult circumstances. However, their seventh choice as candidate, Ernest Brown agreed to contest the seat. [3] Brown was an Englishman who was employed by party headquarters as a speaker. He had briefly served as the Liberal MP for Rugby from 1923-24 when he was defeated at the general election one year later.

Campaign

The Liberal campaign was reliant upon Brown's ability and enthusiasm as a speaker, backed by plentiful funds from Lloyd George's national organisation. However, his task was made difficult because the local Liberal organisation had been allowed to run down during Benn's tenure as MP. [4]

Result

Right up to polling day, the newspapers were predicting either a Labour win or a Conservative win with much talk about the prospect of the Liberal losing his deposit. [5]

Leith by-election, 23 March 1927 Electorate:
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Alfred Ernest Brown 12,461 42.3 −17.3
Labour Robert Freeman Wilson12,35042.0+1.6
Conservative Allan Beaton4,60715.7New
Majority1110.3−18.9
Turnout 29,41873.9+3.4
Liberal hold Swing -9.5

Aftermath

Four days after this victory, the Liberals gained a seat from Labour at Southwark North. Benn did not have long to wait for a local Labour Party to adopt him as a candidate when a by-election vacancy came at Aberdeen North in 1928, where he was returned to parliament. At the 1929 general election Brown was re-elected here. Beaton contested Dunfermline Burghs without success and Wilson did not stand again.

General election, 30 May 1929 Electorate 50,801
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Alfred Ernest Brown 20,613 56.7 −2.9
Labour Alan H Paton15,71543.3+2.9
Majority4,89814.4−5.8
Turnout 36,32871.5+1.0
Liberal hold Swing -2.9

Related Research Articles

The 1943 Darwen by-election was a by-election held on 15 December 1943 for the British House of Commons constituency of Darwen in Lancashire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1943 Chippenham by-election</span> UK by-election

The 1943 Chippenham by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in England on 24 August 1943 for the British House of Commons constituency of Chippenham in Wiltshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Pringle (Liberal MP)</span> British politician (1874–1928)

William Mather Rutherford Pringle was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1910 to 1918 and again from 1922 to 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivor Davies (politician)</span> British politician (1915–1986)

Ivor Roland Morgan Davies CBE was a British Liberal Party politician, journalist and United Nations Association administrator. Politically, his chief claim to fame was his decision in October 1938 to withdraw as Liberal candidate at the Oxford by-election along with the Labour candidate Patrick Gordon-Walker to allow an independent, Popular Front, anti-Munich candidate, A. D. Lindsay, the Master of Balliol, to challenge the government candidate Quintin Hogg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1924 Westminster Abbey by-election</span>

The 1924 Westminster Abbey by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 19 March 1924 for the British House of Commons constituency of Westminster Abbey in London. It was notable for the challenge of Winston Churchill to the party system.

The 1943 University of Wales by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in the United Kingdom between 25 and 29 January 1943 for the House of Commons constituency of University of Wales.

The 1924 Oxford by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 5 June 1924 for the British House of Commons constituency of Oxford.

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 1915 Merthyr Tydfil by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 25 November 1915 for the British House of Commons constituency of Merthyr Tydfil in Glamorganshire, Wales.

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 1937 North Dorset by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of North Dorset on 13 July 1937.

The 1912 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 1919 Isle of Thanet by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Isle of Thanet on 15 November 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1923 Anglesey by-election</span>

The 1923 Anglesey by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Anglesey on 7 April 1923.

The 1942 Wallasey by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Wallasey on 29 April 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1942 Grantham by-election</span>

The 1942 Grantham by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Grantham on 25 March 1942.

The 1942 Rugby by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Rugby on 29 April 1942.

The 1943 Newark by-election was held on 8 June 1943. The by-election was held due to the succession to the peerage of the incumbent Conservative MP, William Cavendish-Bentinck. It was won by the Conservative candidate Sidney Shephard.

The 1944 Skipton by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Skipton, Yorkshire held on 7 January 1944.

<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.

References

  1. ↑ Trial By Ballot by Ivor RM Davies (1950)
  2. ↑ Trial By Ballot by Ivor RM Davies (1950)
  3. ↑ Trial By Ballot by Ivor RM Davies (1950)
  4. ↑ Trial by Ballot by Ivor RM Davies
  5. ↑ Trial by Ballot by Ivor RM Davies
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.