Basingstoke by-election, 1920

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The Basingstoke by-election, 1920 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Basingstoke on 31 March 1920.

By-elections, also spelled bye-elections, are used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections.

Basingstoke (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Basingstoke is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the U.K. Parliament. With the exception of a 1923-1924 Liberal Party MP, since modern creation in 1885 it has elected Conservative MPs, so has been a Conservative safe seat. The closest it came to a non-Conservative victory was in 2001, when they were returned with a three-figure majority. The current MP is Maria Miller.

Contents

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the resignation of the sitting Unionist MP, Auckland Geddes when he was appointed British Ambassador to the United States. He had been MP here since winning the seat in 1917.

Auckland Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes British politician

Auckland Campbell Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes, was a British academic, soldier, politician and diplomat. He was a member of David Lloyd George's coalition government during the First World War and also served as Ambassador to the United States.

Electoral history

The result at the last General Election in 1918 was;

Geddes Auckland Geddes.png
Geddes
1918 General Election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
C Unionist Auckland Geddes 11,218 64.1
Independent Labour A. Close 6,277 35.9
Majority 4,941 28.2
Turnout 55.2
Unionist hold Swing
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Candidates

Verney 1920 Sir Harry Verney.jpg
Verney
Sir Harry Verney, 4th Baronet British politician

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Harry Calvert Williams Verney, 4th Baronet, DSO, was a British Liberal politician.

Buckingham (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Buckingham /ˈbʌkɪŋm̩/ is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by former Conservative MP John Bercow, who later became Speaker of the House of Commons.

Campaign

Polling Day was set for 31 March 1920. On 26 March nominations closed to confirm that the election would be a three-way contest.

Holbrook received the official endorsement of the Coalition Government in separate letters from Lloyd George and Bonar Law.

Farming was the dominant issue as the seat was mainly agricultural. By the rejection of Judd, the Unionists lost the support of a large section of farmers who threatened either to abstain from voting or to vote Liberal. For the Labour campaign, Round's chief hope lay in the organized farm labourers. [5]

Result

The Unionists held onto the seat with a much reduced majority, while the Liberals won the battle for second place.

Basingstoke by-election, 1920 [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
C Unionist Arthur Richard Holbrook 8,515 44.2 -19.9
Liberal Harry Verney 5,393 28.0 n/a
Labour James Harry Round 5,352 27.8 -8.1
Majority 3,122 16.2
Turnout 60.0 +4.8
Unionist hold Swing -5.9
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Aftermath

Holbrook defended his seat at the following General Election, while Verney moved to contest Skipton. Round did not stand again. The result at the following General Election in 1922 was;

Skipton was a county constituency centred on the town of Skipton in Yorkshire which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

1922 General Election [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Unionist Arthur Richard Holbrook 12,514 56.0 +11.8
Liberal Reginald Fletcher 6,780 30.4 +2.4
Labour Samuel Ledbury 3,035 13.6 -14.2
Majority 5,734 25.6
Turnout 66.9
Unionist hold Swing +4.7

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References

  1. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  2. ‘HOLBROOK, Col Sir Arthur (Richard)’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Oct 2012 accessed 16 Dec 2013
  3. English By-elections Since 1918, Edith Adelaide Harrison
  4. Angus Evening Telegraph, 17 Mar 1920
  5. English By-elections Since 1918, Edith Adelaide Harrison
  6. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  7. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig

See also