Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election, 1944

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The Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election, 1944 was a parliamentary by-election held on 17 October 1944 for the British House of Commons constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

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

United Kingdom constituencies electoral area in the UK (do not use in P31; use subclasses of this instead)

In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elect one member to a parliament or assembly, with the exception of European Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies which are multi member constituencies.

Berwick-upon-Tweed (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Berwick-upon-Tweed is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK parliament by an elected Member of Parliament (MP). Since 2015 this MP has been Anne-Marie Trevelyan of the Conservative Party who succeeded the longest serving Liberal Democrat MP Sir Alan Beith who stood down prior to the 2015 election.

Contents

Previous MP

The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Member of Parliament (MP), George Charles Grey, was killed in action. Grey (2 December 1918 – 30 July 1944), the son of a major-general, had joined the British Army in 1938 before the outbreak of the Second World War the following year.

George Charles Grey was Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency in England from August

Grey had become the Liberal MP for the constituency, when he was returned unopposed at a by-election on 18 August 1941, to fill a vacancy caused by the elevation to the peerage of the previous Liberal MP.

Between his election and his death, he was the youngest member of the House of Commons, having been elected at the age of 22 years 259 days.

Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house. The term is most often applied to members of the British parliament from which the term originated. The title is named after the Father of the House, which is given to the longest serving member of the British and other parliaments.

A captain in the 4th Battalion Grenadier Guards, Grey was killed at Le Repas in Normandy, France, on the first day of Operation Bluecoat. He was buried on the battlefield by his men, on the site of which his family later erected a memorial. The site is now recognised as a war grave, designated the Livry Isolated Grave.

The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It can trace its lineage back to 1656.

Normandy Administrative region of France

Normandy is one of the 18 regions of France, roughly referring to the historical Duchy of Normandy.

France Republic with mainland in Europe and numerous oversea territories

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.

Candidates

The election took place during the Second World War. Under an agreement between the Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties; who were participating in a wartime coalition, the party holding a seat would not be opposed by the other two at a by-election. Accordingly, the Liberal Party nominated a candidate, but no Labour or Conservative representative was put forward.

Two candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.

1. The Liberal Party candidate was Sir William Henry Beveridge (5 March 1879 – 16 March 1963), who was a British economist and social reformer. He is perhaps best known for his 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services (known as the Beveridge Report [1] ) which served as the basis for the post-World War II Labour government's Welfare State, including especially the National Health Service.

William Beveridge Economist and social reformer

William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, was a British economist who was a noted progressive and social reformer.

Economist professional in the social science discipline of economics

An economist is a practitioner in the social science discipline of economics.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Beveridge was defeated by a Conservative candidate in the United Kingdom general election, 1945. He was created the 1st Baron Beveridge in 1946.

2. William.D. Clark, a local farmer, was an Independent candidate. [2]

Votes

1944 by-election: Berwick-upon-Tweed
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal William Beveridge 8,792 87.4N/A
Independent W.D. Clark 1,269 12.6N/A
Majority 7,523 74.8N/A
Turnout 10,061 24.5N/A
Registered electors 41,068
Liberal hold Swing N/A

See also

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References

  1. ↑ The Beveridge Report
  2. ↑ The Times, 13 September 1944 p2

Bibliography

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