East Norfolk by-election, 1939

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The East Norfolk by-election, 1939 was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 January 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of East Norfolk.

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.

East Norfolk was a parliamentary constituency in the county of Norfolk. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1868. Another Eastern division was created in 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member. That constituency was abolished in 1950.

Contents

Previous MP

The seat had become vacant on 14 November 1938, when the constituency's National Liberal Member of Parliament (MP), William Lygon, Viscount Elmley had succeeded to the peerage as the 8th Earl Beauchamp. He had been East Norfolk's MP since he was first elected as a Liberal at the 1929 general election, when he gained the seat from the Conservatives. He joined the breakaway National Liberals in 1931, and at the following General election was not opposed by the Conservatives.

The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968. It broke away from the Liberal Party, and later co-operated and merged with the Conservative Party.

William Lygon, 8th Earl Beauchamp British politician

William Lygon, 8th Earl Beauchamp, JP, DL, styled as Viscount Elmley until 1938, was a politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for East Norfolk. He was the eldest son of the controversial William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, sometime leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords.

Earl Beauchamp

Earl Beauchamp was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for William Lygon, 1st Baron Beauchamp, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Elmley, in the County of Worcester. He had already been created Baron Beauchamp of Powyke in the County of Worcester, in 1806, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Lord Beauchamp had previously represented Worcestershire in the House of Commons. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He also sat as Member of Parliament for Worcestershire. He never married and was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Earl. In 1813 he assumed by Royal licence the surname of Pyndar in lieu of Lygon. On his death in 1853 the titles passed to his younger brother, the fourth Earl. He was a General in the Army as well as a Member of Parliament.

Previous Result

General Election, 1935: Norfolk East
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal National William Lygon 23,108 68.8
Labour Norman R. Tillett 10,461 31.2
Majority
Turnout
Liberal National hold Swing

Candidates

Only two candidates contested the by-election: Frank Medlicott for the National Liberals, and Norman Tillett for the Labour Party. Medlicott was a 36-year-old London solicitor who had not contested an election since standing for the Liberal party at Acton in 1929. Tillett was a Norwich solicitor, whose great-grandfather and uncle were both Liberal MPs for Norwich. Tillett had fought the seat at the last General Election. A number of local Conservatives who were unhappy about supporting Medlicott tried to get an Independent Conservative candidate to stand. For a while, it seemed as if James F. Wright, the Secretary of the Norfolk Farmers Union would run as an Independent Conservative, but by close of nominations, there were just the two candidates.

Frank Medlicott British politician

Brigadier Sir Frank Medlicott CBE was a National Liberal Party and later Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom.

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom which has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights.

Result

Medlicott held the seat for the National Liberals, with a reduced but still substantial majority.

East Norfolk by-election, 26 January 1939
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal National Frank Medlicott 18,257 62.9−5.9
Labour Norman R. Tillett 10,785 37.1 +5.9
Majority 7,472 25.8−11.8
Turnout 29,042 53.1−13.7
Liberal National hold Swing −5.9

Aftermath

The 1945 general election was again a two-way contest between Medlicott and Tilett, and Medlicott held the seat.

General Election, 1945: Norfolk East
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal National Frank Medlicott 23,307 55.8−7.1
Labour Norman R. Tillett 18,467 44.2 +7.1
Majority 4,840 11.8−14.2
Turnout 41,774 68.9 +15.8
Liberal National hold Swing −7.1

When the East Norfolk constituency was abolished for the 1950 general election, he was returned for the new Central Norfolk seat.

Central Norfolk was a county constituency in the county of Norfolk. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

See also

Norfolk County of England

Norfolk is a county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the northwest, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea and, to the north-west, The Wash. The county town is Norwich. With an area of 2,074 square miles (5,370 km2) and a population of 859,400, Norfolk is a largely rural county with a population density of 401 per square mile. Of the county's population, 40% live in four major built up areas: Norwich (213,000), Great Yarmouth (63,000), King's Lynn (46,000) and Thetford (25,000).

UK by-election records is an annotated list of notable records from UK Parliamentary by-elections. A by-election occurs when a Member of Parliament resigns, dies, or is disqualified or expelled, and an election is held to fill the vacant seat. A constituency is the seat or division that member represented.

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References



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