List of United Kingdom by-elections (1918 - 1931)

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This is a list of UK by-elections held between 1918 and 1931, with the names of the incumbent and victor and their respective parties. Where seats changed political party at the election, the result is highlighted: red for a Labour gain, blue for a Conservative gain, yellow for a Liberal gain, orange for a SNP gain and grey for any other gain.

For earlier by-elections, see list of UK by-elections (1900 - 1918), and for later by-elections, see list of UK by-elections (1931 - 1950).

1 By-elections
2 References

[edit] By-elections

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
[edit] 35th Parliament (1929 - 1931)
Guildford	25 August 1931¹	Henry Cecil Buckingham		Conservative	Charles Rhys		Conservative
Liverpool Wavertree	23 June 1931	John Abraham Tinne		Conservative	Ronald Nall-Cain		Conservative	Resignation
Manchester Ardwick	22 June 1931	Thomas Louth		Labour	Joseph Henderson		Labour	Death
Gateshead	8 June 1931	Sir James Benjamin Melville		Labour	Herbert Evans		Labour	Death
Rutherglen	21 May 1931	William Wright		Labour	David Hardie		Labour	Death
Stroud	21 May 1931	Sir Frank Nelson		Conservative	Walter Robert Dempster Perkins		Conservative	Resignation
Ogmore	19 May 1931	Vernon Hartshorn		Labour	Edward Williams		Labour	Death
Glasgow St Rollox	7 May 1931	James Stewart		Labour	William Leonard		Labour	Death
Scarborough and Whitby	6 May 1931	Sidney Herbert		Conservative	Paul Latham		Conservative	Resignation
Ashton-under-Lyne	30 April 1931²	Albert Bellamy		Labour	John Broadbent		Conservative	Death
Woolwich East	15 April 1931	Henry Snell		Labour	George Hicks		Labour	Elevation to the peerage
Sunderland	26 March 1931^{2, 3}	Alfred Smith		Labour	Luke Thompson		Conservative	Death
Pontypridd	19 March 1931	Harry Snell		Labour	George Hicks		Labour	Resignation
Westminster St George's	19 March 1931	Laming Worthington-Evans		Conservative	Duff Cooper		Conservative	Death
Salisbury	11 March 1931	Hugh Morrison		Conservative	James Despencer-Robertson		Conservative	Resignation
Fareham	20 February 1931	John Davidson		Conservative	Thomas Inskip		Conservative	Resignation
Islington East	19 February 1931	Ethel Bentham		Labour	Leah Manning		Labour	Death
Liverpool East Toxteth	5 February 1931	Henry Mond		Conservative	Patrick Buchan-Hepburn		Conservative	Succession to the peerage
Bristol East	16 January 1931	Walter John Baker		Labour	Stafford Cripps		Labour	Death
Whitechapel and St George's	3 December 1930	Harry Gosling		Labour	James Henry Hall		Labour	Death
East Renfrewshire	28 November 1930	Albert Munro MacRobert		Conservative	Douglas Douglas-Hamilton		Conservative	Death
Shipley	6 November 1930²	William Mackinder		Labour	James Horace Lockwood		Conservative	Death
Paddington South	30 October 1930⁴	H. D. King		Conservative	Ernest Taylor		Empire Free Trade Crusade	Death
Bromley	2 September 1930			Conservative			Conservative	Elevation to the peerage
North Norfolk	9 July 1930	Noel Buxton		Labour	Lucy Noel-Buxton		Labour	Death
Glasgow Shettleston	26 June 1930	John Wheatley		Labour	John McGovern		Labour	Death
Nottingham Central	27 May 1930	Albert James Bennett		Conservative	Terence James O'Connor		Conservative	Resignation
Fulham West	6 May 1930²	George Ernest Spero		Labour	Cyril Stephen Cobb		Conservative	Resignation
Sheffield Brightside	6 February 1930	Arthur Ponsonby		Labour	Fred Marshall		Labour	Elevated to the peerage
Liverpool Scotland	14 December 1929⁵	Thomas Power O'Connor		Irish Nationalist	David Logan		Labour	Death
Tamworth	2 December 1929			Conservative			Conservative	Resignation
Kilmarnock	27 September 1929	Charles Glen MacAndrew		Labour	Robert Climie		Labour	Death
Twickenham	8 August 1929	William Joynson-Hicks		Conservative	John Ferguson		Conservative	Elevated to the peerage
Leeds South East	1 August 1929	Henry Herman Slesser		Labour	James Milner		Labour	Resignation
Preston	31 July 1929⁶	William Allen Jowitt		Liberal	William Allen Jowitt		Labour	Seeks re-election upon change of party allegiance
¹ - The election was initially contested but on August 25th the Liberal candidate withdrew, in light of the changed political situation due to the formation of the National Government the previous day. ² - Retained at the 1931 UK general election. ³ - Sunderland was a two member constituency. Both MPs were won by Labour in the 1929 general election and by the Conservatives in the 1931 general election. ⁴ - Taylor joined the Conservative Party in 1931, holding the seat at the 1931 general election. ⁵ - A rare case of a gain in an unopposed election. O'Connor had an ad hoc group of supporters in the constituency who helped his campaign at election times, and Logan had been extensively involved in the Irish nationalist movement in his youth. ⁶ - Preston was a two member constituency. Jowitt was appointed Attorney General of England and Wales in the Labour government and opted to seek re-election in his new party colours. In 1931 he became a National Labour MP but did not recontest Preston in the 1931 general election as he could not secure the withdrawal of Conservative candidates supporting the National Government who took both seats. [edit] 34th Parliament (1924 - 1929)
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Lanarkshire North	21 March 1929¹	Alexander Sprot		Conservative	Jennie Lee		Labour	Death
Holland with Boston	21 March 1929¹	Arthur Wellesley Dean		Conservative	James Blindell		Liberal	Death
Bath	21 March 1929	Charles Talbot Foxcroft		Conservative	Charles Baillie-Hamilton		Conservative	Death
Eddisbury	20 March 1929¹	Harry Barnston		Conservative	Richard John Russell		Liberal	Death
Liverpool East Toxteth	19 March 1929	Albert Edward Jacob		Conservative	Henry Mond		Conservative	Death
Wansbeck	13 February 1929			Labour			Labour	Death
Bishop Auckland	7 February 1929	Ben Spoor		Labour	Florence Ruth Dalton		Labour	Death
Battersea South	7 February 1929¹	Francis Curzon		Conservative	William Bennett		Labour	Succession to the peerage
Midlothian and Peeblesshire Northern	29 January 1929²	George Aitken Clark Hutchison		Conservative	Andrew Bathgate Clarke		Labour	Death
Ashton-under-Lyne	29 October 1928¹	Cornelius William James Homan		Conservative	Albert Bellamy		Labour	Declared bankrupt
Tavistock	11 October 1928	Philip Kenyon-Slaney		Conservative	Wallace Duffield Wright		Conservative	Death
Cheltenham	26 September 1928	James Tynte Agg-Gardner		Conservative	Walter Reuben Preston		Conservative	Death
Aberdeen North	16 August 1928	Frank Herbert Rose		Labour	William Wedgwood Benn		Labour	Death
Sheffield Hallam	16 July 1928	Frederick Sykes		Conservative	Louis William Smith		Conservative	Appointed Governor of Bombay
Halifax	13 July 1928^{1, 3}	John Henry Whitley		Speaker	Arthur Longbottom		Labour	Resignation (retired as Speaker)
Epsom	4 July 1928	George Blades		Conservative	Archibald Southby		Conservative	Elevation to the peerage
Carmarthen	28 June 1928⁴	Sir Alfred Mond		Liberal/Conservative	William Nathaniel Jones		Liberal	Elevation to the Hereditary Peerage
Holborn	28 June 1928	James Remnant		Conservative	Stuart James Bevan		Conservative	Elevation to the peerage
St Marylebone	30 April 1928	Douglas Hogg		Conservative	Rennell Rodd		Conservative	Resignation
Hanley	23 April 1928			Labour			Labour	Death
Linlithgowshire	4 April 1928¹	James Kidd		Conservative	Emanuel Shinwell		Labour	Death
Middlesbrough West	7 March 1928	Walter Trevelyan Thomson		Liberal	Frank Kingsley Griffith		Liberal	Death
St Ives	6 March 1928¹	John Anthony Hawke		Conservative	Hilda Runciman		Liberal	Appointment as a High Court Judge
Ilford	23 February 1928	Frederic Wise		Conservative	Collingwood Hamilton		Conservative	Death
Lancaster	9 February 1928²	Gerald Strickland		Conservative	Robert Parkinson Tomlinson		Liberal	Elevation to the Hereditary Peerage
Bristol West	2 February 1928	George Gibbs		Conservative	Cyril Culverwell		Conservative
Faversham	25 January 1928	Granville Wheler		Conservative	Adam Maitland		Conservative	Death
Northampton	9 January 1928¹	Arthur Edward Aveling Holland		Conservative	Cecil L'Estrange Malone		Labour	Death
Canterbury	24 November 1927	Ronald McNeill		Conservative	William Wayland		Conservative	Elevation to the peerage
Southend	19 November 1927	Rupert Guinness		Conservative	Gwendolen Guinness		Conservative	Succession to the peerage
Brixton	27 June 1927	Davison Alexander Dalziel		Conservative	Nigel Colman		Conservative	Elevation to the peerage
Westbury	16 June 1927			Conservative			Conservative	Death
Bosworth	31 May 1927¹	Robert Gee		Conservative	William Edge		Liberal	Resignation
Combined Scottish Universities	26-29 April 1927	Henry Craik		Conservative	John Buchan		Conservative	Death
Southwark North	28 March 1927⁵	Leslie Haden-Guest		Labour	Edward Anthony Strauss		Liberal	Sought re-election upon change of party allegiance
Edinburgh Leith	23 March 1927	William Wedgwood Benn		Liberal	Ernest Brown		Liberal	Resignation
Stourbridge	23 February 1927¹	Douglas Percival Pielou		Conservative	Wilfred Wellock		Labour	Death
Smethwick	21 December 1926	John Emanuel Davison		Labour	Oswald Mosley		Labour	Resignation
Chelmsford	30 November 1926	H. Curtis-Bennett		Conservative	C. K. Howard Bury		Conservative	Resignation
Kingston-upon-Hull Central	29 November 1926¹	Joseph Montague Kenworthy		Liberal	Joseph Montague Kenworthy		Labour	Seeks re-election upon change of party allegiance
Howdenshire	25 November 1926	Stanley Jackson		Conservative	W. H. Carver		Conservative	Resignation
North Cumberland	17 September 1926	Donald Howard		Conservative	F. Graham		Conservative	Succession to the peerage
Wallsend	21 July 1926	Patrick Hastings		Labour	Margaret Bondfield		Labour	Resignation
Hammersmith North	20 May 1926¹	Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett		Conservative	James Patrick Gardner		Labour	Resignation
Buckrose	5 May 1926	Guy Gaunt		Conservative	A. N. Braithwaite		Conservative	Resignation
East Ham North	29 April 1926¹	Charles Williamson Crook		Conservative	Arabella Susan Lawrence		Labour	Death
Bothwell	26 March 1926	J. Robertson		Labour	Joseph Sullivan		Labour	Death
Combined English Universities	8-12 March 1926⁶	Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher		Liberal	Alfred Hopkinson		Conservative	Resignation
Darlington	17 February 1926¹	William Edwin Pease		Conservative	Arthur Lewis Shepherd		Labour	Death
Cambridge University	13 February 1926⁷	John Rawlinson		Conservative	John James Withers		Conservative	Death
East Renfrewshire	29 January 1926	Alexander Munro MacRobert		Conservative	Alexander Munro MacRobert		Conservative	Appointed Solicitor General for Scotland
Dunbartonshire	29 January 1926	David Pinkerton Fleming		Conservative	John Gibb Thom		Conservative	Appointed to the Court of Session
Ripon	5 December 1925	Edward Wood		Conservative	J. W. Hills		Conservative	Resignation
Bury St Edmunds	1 December 1925	Walter Edward Guinness		Conservative	Walter Edward Guinness		Conservative	Appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Galloway	17 November 1925	Arthur Henniker-Hughan		Conservative	S. R. Streatfield		Conservative	Death
Stockport	17 September 1925⁸	William Greenwood		Conservative	Arnold Ernest Townend		Labour	Death
Forest of Dean	14 July 1925	J. Wignall		Labour	A. A. Purcell		Labour	Death
Oldham	24 June 1925	Edward Grigg		Liberal	W. M. Wiggins		Liberal	Resignation
Eastbourne	17 June 1925	G. Lloyd		Conservative	Reginald Hall		Conservative	Resignation
Ayr Burghs	12 June 1925	John Baird		Conservative	Thomas Cecil Moore		Conservative	Appointed Governor-General of Australia
Walsall	27 February 1925	Charles William Preston		Conservative	Charles William Preston		Conservative	Disqualification
Dundee	22 December 1924	E. D. Morel		Labour	Thomas Johnstone		Labour	Death
¹ - Gain retained at the 1929 UK general election. ² - Gain not retained at the 1929 UK general election. ³ - Prior to his elevation to Speaker of the House of Commons, John Henry Whitley had been a Liberal MP. ⁴ - Sir Alfred Mond was elected in the 1924 general election as a Liberal but moved to the Conservative Party in Parliament. The Liberals retook his seat in the by-election but lost it to Labour in the 1929 general election. ⁵ - Haden-Guest left the Labour Party and sought re-election as a Constitutionalist, but the seat was gained by the Liberals. In the 1929 general election the seat was regained by the Labour Party. ⁶ - The Combined English Universities was a two-member constituency. In the 1924 general election it elected one Conservative and one Liberal. The Conservatives gained the Liberal seat but in the 1929 general election the two seats were won by one Conservative and one Independent (Eleanor Rathbone). ⁷ - An uncontested election. ⁸ - Stockport was a two member constituency. In the 1924 general election it elected two Conservative MPs. One seat was lost to the Labour Party in the 1926 by-election. In the 1929 general election the Conservative and Labour Parties won one seat apiece. [edit] 33rd Parliament (1923 - 1924)
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Carmarthen	14 August 1924	Ellis Ellis-Griffith		Liberal	Alfred Mond		Liberal	Resignation
Holland with Boston	31 July 1924¹	William Stapleton Royce		Labour	Arthur Wellesley Dean		Conservative	Death
Lewes	9 July 1924	William Campion		Conservative	Tufton Percy Hamilton Beamish		Conservative	Appointment as Governor of Western Australia
Oxford	5 June 1924¹	Frank Gray		Liberal	Robert Croft Bourne		Conservative	Election declared void
Glasgow Kelvingrove	23 May 1924	William Hutchison		Conservative	Walter Elliot		Conservative	Death
Liverpool West Toxteth	22 May 1924¹	Robert Paterson Houston		Conservative	Joseph Gibbins		Labour	Resignation
Abbey	19 March 1924	John Sanctuary Nicholson		Conservative	Otho William Nicholson		Conservative	Death
Dover	12 March 1924			Conservative			Conservative	Voted before taking the Oath of Allegiance
Burnley	28 February 1924	David Irving		Labour	Arthur Henderson		Labour	Death
City of London	1 February 1924	Frederick George Banbury		Conservative	Thomas Vansittart Bowater		Conservative	Elevation to the peerage
¹ - Gain retained at the 1924 UK general election. [edit] 32nd Parliament (1922 - 1923)
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Yeovil	30 October 1923	Aubrey Herbert		Conservative	George Davies		Conservative	Death
Rutland and Stamford	30 October 1923			Conservative			Conservative	Death
Portsmouth South	13 August 1923	Leslie Orme Wilson		Conservative	Herbert Robin Cayzer		Conservative	Resignation
Leeds Central	26 July 1923	Arthur Wellesley Willey		Conservative	Charles Henry Wilson		Conservative	Death
Tiverton	21 June 1923¹	Herbert Weston Sheppard Sparkes		Conservative	Francis Dyke Acland		Liberal	Death
Morpeth	21 June 1923	John Cairns		Labour	Robert Smillie		Labour	Death
Berwick-upon-Tweed	31 May 1923¹	Hilton Philipson		National Liberal	Mabel Philipson		Conservative	Void election (electoral fraud)
Ludlow	19 April 1923	Ivor Windsor-Clive		Conservative	George Windsor-Clive		Conservative	Succession to the peerage
Anglesey	7 April 1923¹	Owen Thomas		Independent Labour	Sir Robert John Thomas		Liberal	Death
Liverpool Edge Hill	6 March 1923¹	William Watson Rutherford		Conservative	John Henry Hayes		Labour	Resignation
Mitcham	3 March 1923²	Richard James Meller		Conservative	James Chuter Ede		Labour	Resignation
Willesden East	3 March 1923¹	Sir H. M. Mallaby-Deeley		Conservative	Harcourt Johnstone		Liberal	Resignation
Darlington	28 February 1923	Herbert Pike Pease		Conservative	William Edwin Pease		Conservative	Elevation to the peerage
Stepney, Whitechapel and St George's	8 February 1923			Labour			Labour	Death
Newcastle-upon-Tyne East	17 January 1923	Joseph Nicholas Bell		Labour	Arthur Henderson		Labour	Death
Portsmouth South	3 December 1922	Herbert Robin Cayzer		Conservative	Leslie Orme Wilson		Conservative	Resignation
¹ - Gain retained at the 1923 UK general election. ² - Gain not retained at the 1923 UK general election. [edit] 31st Parliament (1919 - 1922) Only seats which changed hands are listed. N.B. Some precise party alleigances are difficult to determine as during this Parliament the Liberal and Conservative Parties were both divided over whether or not to continue support for the Lloyd George Coalition Government. Some opponents of the Coalition ran and/or sat as Independent Liberals or Conservatives respectively; however other opponents were able to secure official nominations. It is not always clear just where an individual MP or officially endorsed candidate stood on the Coalition at the point of election and there are several who appear to have given ambiguous information at the time or to have switched wings once in Parliament.
By-election	Year	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause	Retained
Newport (Monmouthshire)	1922	Lewis Haslam		Coalition Liberal	Reginald Clarry		Conservative	Death	Yes
Hackney South	1922	Horatio Bottomley		Independent	Clifford Erskine-Bolst		Coalition Conservative	Expelled from Parliament	Yes ¹
Pontypridd	1922	Thomas Arthur Lewis		Coalition Liberal	Thomas Isaac Mardy Jones		Labour	Appointment as a Minister (Junior Lord of the Treasury)	Yes
Leicester East	1922	Gordon Hewart		Coalition Liberal	George Banton		Labour	Appointment as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales	No ²
Bodmin	1922	Charles Augustin Hanson		Coalition Conservative	Isaac Foot		Liberal	Death	Yes
Camberwell North	1922	Henry Newton Knights		Coalition Conservative	Charles Ammon		Labour	Resignation	Yes
Manchester Clayton	1922	Edward Hopkinson		Coalition Conservative	John Edward Sutton		Labour	Death	No
Southwark South East	1921	James Arthur Dawes		Coalition Liberal	Thomas Ellis Naylor		Labour	Death	No ²
Heywood and Radcliffe	1921	Albert Illingworth		Coalition Liberal	Walter Halls		Labour	Elevation to the peerage	No ²
Westminster St George's	1921	Walter Long		Coalition Conservative	J. M. M. Erskine		Anti-Waste League	Elevation to the peerage	Yes ³
Penistone	1921	Sydney Arnold		Liberal	William Gillis		Labour	Resignation	No
Kirkcaldy Burghs	1921	James Henry Dalziel		Coalition Liberal	Thomas Kennedy		Labour	Resignation	No ²
Dudley	1921	Arthur Griffith-Boscawen		Coalition Conservative	James Wilson		Labour	Appointment as Minister of Agriculture	No
Woolwich East	1921	Will Crooks		Labour	Robert Gee		Coalition Conservative	Death	No
Dover	1921	Viscount Duncannon		Coalition Conservative	Thomas Andrew Polson		Independent	Succession to the Peerage	No ⁴
The Wrekin	1920	Charles Frederick Palmer		Independent	Sir C. V. F. Townshend		Independent	Death	No ⁵
Norfolk South	1920	William Hepburn Cozens-Hardy		Coalition Liberal	George Edwards		Labour	Succession to the hereditary peerage	No ⁶
Louth	1920	Henry Langton Brackenbury		Coalition Conservative	Thomas Wintringham		Liberal	Death	Yes ⁷
Dartford	1920	James Rowlands		Coalition Liberal	John Edmund Mills		Labour	Death	No ⁸
The Wrekin	1920	Charles Solomon Henry		Coalition Liberal	Charles Frederick Palmer		Independent	Death	No ⁵
Spen Valley	1919	Thomas Palmer Whittaker		Coalition Liberal	Thomas Myers		Labour	Death	No ⁹
Widnes	1919	William Hall Walker		Coalition Conservative	Arthur Henderson		Labour	Elevation to the Hereditary Peerage	No
Bothwell	1919	David Henderson Macdonald		Coalition Conservative	John Robertson		Labour	Death	Yes
East Antrim	1919	Robert Chaine Alexander McCalmont		Ulster Unionist	George Boyle Hanna		Independent Unionist		Seat abolished ¹⁰
Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central	1919	Alexander Theodore Gordon		Coalition Conservative	Murdoch McKenzie Wood		Liberal	Death	Yes
Hull Central	1919	Sir Mark Sykes		Coalition Conservative	Hon. Joseph Kenworthy		Liberal	Death	Yes
Leyton West	1919	Harry Wrightson		Coalition Conservative	Alfred Ernest Newbould		Liberal	Death	No

¹ - Horatio Bottomley was expelled from the Commons following his imprisonment for fraud. The by-election was won by Clifford Erskine-Bolst as a Conservative candidate supporting the Coalition, who retained the seat in the 1922 general election for the party post Coaltion.

² - The seat was regained at the 1922 general election by the National Liberals, as the Coalition Liberals were restyled following the end of the Coalition.

³ - Erskine was the nominee of the Anti-Waste League. In the 1922 general election he was also supported by the St. George's, Hannover Square, Independent Conservative Association who were in dispute with the official Conservative Association in the constituency. During the 1922-1923 Parliament Erskine came to sit as an official Conservative and retained the sea as such in subsequent elections.

⁴ - At the time of his election Polson was supported by Horatio Bottomley who formed the Independent Parliamentary Group in Parliament. Shortly after election he joined the newly formed Anti-Waste League. He unsuccessfully defended his seat in the 1922 general election as an Independent Conservative, losing to an official Conservative candidate.

⁵ - The Wrekin experienced two by-elections in 1920. Both Charles Frederick Palmer and Sir C. V. F. Townshend were supported by Horatio Bottomley and once in Parliament joined his Independent Parliamentary Group. The seat was won by the Coalition Liberals in the 1918 general election and by the Conservatives in the 1922 general election.

⁶ - George Edwards gained Norfolk South from the Liberals, but lost to the Conservatives in the 1922 general election.

⁷ - Thomas Wintringham died later in the Parliament and Louth was retained for the Liberals by his wife in both the second by-election and the 1922 general election.

⁸ - John Edmund Mills won Dartford from the Coalition Liberals, but lost to G. W. S. Jarrett, running as a Constitutionalist in the 1922 general election.

⁹ - Spen Valley was taken from the Coalition Liberals by Labour due to the intevention of an anti-Coalition official Liberal. In the 1922 general election the anti-Coalition Liberal gained the seat.

¹⁰ - Due to the establishment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, the number of constituencies for Northern Ireland was substantially reduced from the 1922 general election. East Antrim was absorbed into the larger two-member Antrim constituency, which at the 1922 election was won by two official Ulster Unionists.

By-elections in the United Kingdom
British Parliament: 1885 - 1900 • 1900 - 1918 • 1918 - 1931 • 1931 - 1950 • 1950 - 1979 • 1979 - present
Scottish Parliament • Welsh Assembly