Battersea North by-election, 1940
Encyclopedia
The Battersea North by-election, 1940 was a parliamentary by-election
held on 17 April 1940 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Battersea North
in the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea
.
The seat had become vacant on the resignation
due to ill-health of the constituency's Labour
Member of Parliament
(MP), William Sanders. He had held the seat since the 1929 general election
, with a four-year gap after his defeat in the National landslide
at the 1931 general election
. He was re-elected at the 1935 election
.
, a former solicitor. In keeping with a war-time
electoral pact, the Conservative
and Liberal
parties did not field candidates, and Douglas's only opponent was E.C. Joyce, who stood as an anti-war Independent candidate. Joyce received the backing of the Communist Party
.
Douglas would go on to hold the seat against Conservative opposition at the 1945 general election
, until resigning in 1946 to take up the post of Governor of Malta, precipitating another by-election
in the constituency.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 17 April 1940 for the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Battersea North
Battersea North (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 1960s:-Elections in the 1950s:-Elections in the 1940s:Francis Douglas was appointed Governor of Malta, leading to a by-election....
in the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea
Metropolitan Borough of Battersea
Battersea was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in the County of London, England. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its area combined with parts of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth to form the London Borough of Wandsworth...
.
The seat had become vacant on the resignation
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
due to ill-health of the constituency's Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP), William Sanders. He had held the seat since the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, with a four-year gap after his defeat in the National landslide
Landslide victory
In politics, a landslide victory is the victory of a candidate or political party by an overwhelming margin in an election...
at the 1931 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
. He was re-elected at the 1935 election
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
.
Candidates
The Labour Party selected as its candidate Francis DouglasFrancis Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Barloch
Francis Campbell Ross Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Barloch KCMG , was a British journalist, solicitor and Labour Party politician....
, a former solicitor. In keeping with a war-time
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
electoral pact, the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
parties did not field candidates, and Douglas's only opponent was E.C. Joyce, who stood as an anti-war Independent candidate. Joyce received the backing of the Communist Party
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
.
Results
On a considerably reduced turnout, Douglas held the seat for Labour with a majority of 9,156 votes; Joyce won just 7.4% of the votes cast, thus forfeiting his deposit.Douglas would go on to hold the seat against Conservative opposition at the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, until resigning in 1946 to take up the post of Governor of Malta, precipitating another by-election
Battersea North by-election, 1946
The Battersea North by-election, 1946 was a parliamentary by-election held on 25 July 1946 for the British House of Commons constituency of Battersea North in the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea....
in the constituency.
Votes
See also
- Battersea North constituencyBattersea North (UK Parliament constituency)-Elections in the 1960s:-Elections in the 1950s:-Elections in the 1940s:Francis Douglas was appointed Governor of Malta, leading to a by-election....
- Battersea North by-election, 1946Battersea North by-election, 1946The Battersea North by-election, 1946 was a parliamentary by-election held on 25 July 1946 for the British House of Commons constituency of Battersea North in the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea....
- BatterseaBatterseaBattersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election recordsUnited Kingdom by-election recordsUK by-election records is an annotated list of notable records from UK Parliamentary by-elections. A by-election occurs when a Member of Parliament resigns, dies, or is disqualified or expelled, and an election is held to fill the vacant seat...