Darwen by-election, 1943
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Darwen by-election, 1943 was a by-election held on 12th December 1943 for the British House of Commons constituency of Darwen in Lancashire.
The seat had become vacant on the death in October of the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Stuart Russell, who had been kiled on active service in World War II. He had been elected at the 1935 general election, beating the Liberal Party leader Herbert Samuel.
During World War II, the major parties had agreed an electoral pact under which they would not contest by-elections in seats held by their respective parties, and as a result many wartime by-elections resulting in a candidate beding returned unopposed. However, other parties and independent politicians were free to field candidates, and at Darwen Miss H. C. M Balfour stood as an "Independent Liberal". She was the only opponent to the Consevative candidate Stanley Prescott.
At the 1935 general election, the Conservatives had on 41% of the votes, with a narrow majority over the ougoing Liberal MP. In 1943, Without either a Liberal Party or a Labour Party opponent, Prescott increased the Conservative share of the vote, albeit on a much-reduced turnout. However, Balfour came within 70 votes of winning the seat.
[edit] Votes
| Darwen by-election, 1943 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Stanley Prescott | 8,869 | 50.2 | +9.1 | |
| Independent Liberal | H. C. M. Balfour | 8,799 | 49.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 70 | 0.4 | −2.7 | ||
| Turnout | 17,668 | 45.0 | −43.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Craig, F. W. S. [1969] (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, 3rd edition, Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- This page incorporates information from Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page.
