The Darwen by-election, 1943 was a by-election held on 12 December 1943 for the British House of Commons constituency of Darwen in Lancashire.
The seat had become vacant after the death in October of the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Stuart Russell, who had been killed 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 being returned unopposed. However, other parties and independent politicians were free to field candidates, and at Darwen the journalist Honor Balfour stood as an "Independent Liberal"[1]. She was the only opponent to the Conservative candidate Stanley Prescott.
In the 1935 general election, the Conservatives had won 41% of the votes, with a narrow majority over the ougoing Liberal MP. In 1943, Without either an official Liberal or Labour 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.
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| Darwen by-election, 1943 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Stanley Prescott | 8,869 | 50.2 | +9.1 | |
| Independent Liberal | Honor Balfour | 8,799 | 49.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 70 | 0.4 | −2.7 | ||
| Turnout | 17,668 | 45.0 | −43.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
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