Cambridge by-election, 1922
Encyclopedia
The Cambridge by-election, 1922 was a by-election
held on 16 March 1922 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Cambridge
.
The by-election was caused by the resignation
on 7 November 1921 of the town's Conservative Party
Member of Parliament (MP) Sir Eric Geddes
, who had held the seat since 1917, and had come under criticism as Minister of Transport for the scale of nationalisation he had overseen, and over charges of departmental inefficiency. He chose to resign as both cabinet minister and MP.
The result was a comfortable victory for the new Conservative candidate Sir George Newton
, who held the seat until his elevation to the peerage in 1934 as Baron Eltisley. The election nonetheless saw a sharp fall in the Conservative share of the vote (by over one third) since the 'khaki election' of 1918, although the Conservative vote only actually fell by 656, and Newton's fall in vote share is mainly attributable by a slight rise in the Labour vote, and the appearance of the first Liberal candidate to contest the seat since 1910.
Of the two unsuccessful candidates, Hugh Dalton
was a Cambridge-educated LSE
lecturer in economics who went on to be an MP from 1924, and became Labour's Chancellor
under Clement Attlee
; and Sydney Cope Morgan was a Cambridge-educated barrister who went on to contest the seat again for the Liberals with an increased vote at each of the next two general elections.
All three candidates were contesting the seat for the first time, and Dalton would not contest the seat again.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 16 March 1922 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 Cambridge
Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
.
The by-election was caused by 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...
on 7 November 1921 of the town's Conservative Party
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...
Member of Parliament (MP) Sir Eric Geddes
Eric Campbell Geddes
Sir Eric Campbell-Geddes GCB, GBE, PC was a British businessman and Conservative politician. He served as First Lord of the Admiralty between 1917 and 1919 and as the first Minister of Transport between 1919 and 1921....
, who had held the seat since 1917, and had come under criticism as Minister of Transport for the scale of nationalisation he had overseen, and over charges of departmental inefficiency. He chose to resign as both cabinet minister and MP.
The result was a comfortable victory for the new Conservative candidate Sir George Newton
George Newton, 1st Baron Eltisley
George Douglas Cochrane Newton, 1st Baron Eltisley was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was appointed High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire for 1909...
, who held the seat until his elevation to the peerage in 1934 as Baron Eltisley. The election nonetheless saw a sharp fall in the Conservative share of the vote (by over one third) since the 'khaki election' of 1918, although the Conservative vote only actually fell by 656, and Newton's fall in vote share is mainly attributable by a slight rise in the Labour vote, and the appearance of the first Liberal candidate to contest the seat since 1910.
Of the two unsuccessful candidates, Hugh Dalton
Hugh Dalton
Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton PC was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947, when he was implicated in a political scandal involving budget leaks....
was a Cambridge-educated LSE
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
lecturer in economics who went on to be an MP from 1924, and became Labour's Chancellor
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
under Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
; and Sydney Cope Morgan was a Cambridge-educated barrister who went on to contest the seat again for the Liberals with an increased vote at each of the next two general elections.
All three candidates were contesting the seat for the first time, and Dalton would not contest the seat again.
Result of the previous general election in Cambridge
Result of 16 March 1922 by-election
See also
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- Cambridge constituencyCambridge (UK Parliament constituency)Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
- Cambridge by-election, 1934
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