Windsor by-election, 1942
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The Windsor by-election, 1942 was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Windsor in Berkshire on 30 June 1942. The by-election was won by the Conservative candidate Charles Mott-Radclyffe.
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[edit] Vacancy
The Conservative MP Annesley Somerville had died on 15 May 1942, aged 84. He had held the seat since the 1922 general election, and had been returned unopposed in 1931 and 1935.
[edit] Candidates
The Conservative candidate was 30-year-old Charles Mott-Radclyffe, who had not had previously contested a parliamentary election.
During World War II, the political parties in the Coalition Government had agreed not to contest by-elections when a vacancy arose in any of the seats held by the other coalition parties. However, many by-elections were contested by independent or minor party candidates, and in Windsor the dramatist William Douglas-Home stood as an "Independent Progressive" candidate, opposing Winston Churchill's war aim of an unconditional surrender by Germany.[1].
The younger brother of future Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home, he had contested the Glasgow Cathcart by-election in April 1942. A Second Lieutenant in the Royal Armoured Corps, he had supported appeasement in the 1930s.
[edit] Result
On a low turnout, Mott-Radclyffe held the seat for the Conservatives, but with a majority of only 17%, a surprisingly good result for Douglas-Home. Mott-Radclyffe served as Windsor's MP until he retired from the House of Commons at the 1970 general election
Douglas-Home went on to contest the Clay Cross by-election in April 1944, where he came a poor third, and was later imprisoned for a year with hard labour after being court-martialled for refusing to fight in the attack on Le Havre after the allied forces had refused a German request to suspend hostilities to allow civilian evacuation.[1]
[edit] Votes
| By-Election 30 June 1942: Windsor | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Charles Edward Mott-Radclyffe | 9,557 | 58.37 | N/A | |
| Ind. Progressive | Hon. William Douglas-Home | 6,817 | 41.63 | N/A | |
| Majority | 2,740 | 16.73 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 16,374 | 27.88 | N/A | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Registered Electors | 58,726 | ||||
| General Election 1935: Windsor | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Annesley Ashworth Somerville | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
[edit] See also
- Windsor (UK Parliament constituency)
- Windsor, Berkshire
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1931–1950)
[edit] Notes
[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.
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
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