1940 Spen Valley by-election

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The 1940 Spen Valley by-election was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Spen Valley on 1 June 1940. The seat had become vacant when the Liberal National Member of Parliament Sir John Simon, had been elevated to the peerage as Viscount Simon. [1] Simon had held the seat since the 1922 general election.

During the Second World War the political parties in the Coalition Government had agreed not to contest by-elections when a vacancy arose in any of the seats held by the other coalition parties. As a result, the only candidate was William Woolley of the Liberal National Party, who was returned unopposed. [1] He represented the constituency until his defeat at the 1945 general election.

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References

  1. 1 2 "New M.P. for Spen Valley" . Birmingham Daily Post. 3 June 1940. p. 3. Retrieved 1 July 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.