Croydon South by-election, 1932
Encyclopedia
The Croydon South by-election, 1932 was a by-election
held on 9 February 1932 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Croydon South
in Surrey
.
Member of Parliament
(MP), Sir William Mitchell-Thomson
had been elevated to the peerage as Baron Selsdon
. He had held the seat since the 1923 general election
.
until his defeat at the 1929 general election
.
His only opponent was the Labour Party
candidate, R. P. Messel, who had contested South Molton
in 1929 and 1931.
.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 9 February 1932 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 Croydon South
Croydon South (historic UK Parliament constituency)
-Politics and history of the constituency:The seat was created in 1918 and the first MP was Ian Malcolm who had been the MP for all of Croydon. H.T. Muggeridge, father of Malcolm Muggeridge, fought the seat for Labour four times from 1918, later becoming MP for Romford...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the ConservativeConservative 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
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), Sir William Mitchell-Thomson
William Mitchell-Thomson, 1st Baron Selsdon
William Lowson Mitchell-Thomson, 1st Baron Selsdon KBE PC , known as Sir William Mitchell-Thomson, 2nd Baronet, from 1918 to 1932, was a British politician....
had been elevated to the peerage as Baron Selsdon
Baron Selsdon
Baron Selsdon, of Croydon in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1932 for the Conservative politician Sir William Mitchell-Thomson, 2nd Baronet...
. He had held the seat since the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
.
Candidates
The Conservative candidate was Herbert Williams, who had been MP for ReadingReading (UK Parliament constituency)
Reading was a parliamentary borough, and later a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire....
until his defeat at the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
.
His only opponent was the Labour Party
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...
candidate, R. P. Messel, who had contested South Molton
South Molton (UK Parliament constituency)
South Molton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the small town of South Molton in Devon, in the South West of England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
in 1929 and 1931.
Result
On a low turnout, the result was a victory for Williams: a swing of 12.8% to Labour merely reduced the Conservative majority from huge to large. He was re-elected in 1935, but defeated at the 1945 general electionUnited 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...
.
Votes
See also
- Croydon South constituencyCroydon South (historic UK Parliament constituency)-Politics and history of the constituency:The seat was created in 1918 and the first MP was Ian Malcolm who had been the MP for all of Croydon. H.T. Muggeridge, father of Malcolm Muggeridge, fought the seat for Labour four times from 1918, later becoming MP for Romford...
- Croydon South by-election, 1919
- CroydonCroydonCroydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1931–1950)