Hythe by-election, 1939

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The Hythe by-election, 1939 was a parliamentary by-election held on 20 July 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of Hythe.

Previous MP

Previous Result

General Election, 14 November 1935[1]

Electorate: 35,205

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Rt Hon. Sir Philip Albert Gustave David Sassoon 15,359 63.9
Liberal Richard Hathaway Ellis 8,688 36.1
Majority 6,671 27.7
Turnout 24,047 68.3
Conservative hold Swing

Candidates

  • The Conservatives selected a London County Councillor, Rupert Brabner, to defend the seat.
  • Hythe was not one of the Liberal party's better prospects. However, the Liberal party changed its candidate for the by-election and drafted 33-year-old Frank Darvall, who had been selected as the prospective candidate for the more winnable Dorset East. Darvall's candidature demonstrated that the Liberal party was going to take this contest seriously. He was Liberal candidate for the Ipswich Division of Suffolk at the 1929 General Election and King’s Lynn Division of Norfolk at the 1935 General Election. He was President of the National Union of Students from 1927–29.
  • As in the 1935 General Election campaign, the Hythe Labour party chose not to run a candidate. However, a former Labour party member did contest the election: St John Philby stood as a candidate for the newly formed British People's Party, a right-wing anti-war party that broke away from the British Union of Fascists.

Result

Hythe by-election, 1939[2]

Electorate 35,535

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Rupert Arnold Brabner 12,016 54.2 -9.7
Liberal Frank Ongley Darvall 9,577 43.2 +7.1
Independent Harry St. John Bridger Philby 576 2.6 n/a
Majority 2,439 11.0 -16.8
Turnout 62.4 -5.9
Conservative hold Swing -8.4

Aftermath

Rupert Brabner served as a Junior Government Minister and saw active service with the RNVR. He died on active service early in 1945. Frank Darvall planned to contest Hythe at a 1939/1940 General Election but never stood for parliament again. St. John Philby was also to disappear from the electoral scene along with the British People's Party, which never contested an election again.

General Election, 5 July 1945[3]

Electorate 23,575

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Col. Harry Ripley Mackeson 8,048 46.5 -7.7
Labour Lt. David Graham Widdiscombe 6,091 35.2 n/a
Liberal Capt. Arthur Dyke Beauchamp James 3,152 18.2 -25.0
Majority 1,957 11.3
Turnout 73.3
Conservative hold Swing

References

  1. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig
  2. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig
  3. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig
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