National Labour Party (UK)
Encyclopedia
The National Labour Organisation, also known as the National Labour Committee, was a British
political group formed after the 1931 creation of the National Government to co-ordinate the efforts of the supporters of the government who had come from the Labour Party
. The most prominent Labour Party member involved in the Government was the Prime Minister
, Ramsay MacDonald
. National Labour sponsored Parliamentary candidates but did not consider itself a full political party as it had no policy distinctive from that of the Government which it supported. After MacDonald's death, the group continued in existence until winding up on the eve of the 1945 general election
; its newsletter ceased publication two years later.
in October 1931 left Ramsay MacDonald and the other Labour supporters with the difficult job of organising their own re-elections without any form of organisation. Preparations had been started on 19 September, and by early October National Labour supporters had a list of 34 seats which they wanted to fight: 14 out of 15 sitting National Labour MPs wished to fight for re-election, and a further 10 candidates were ready to stand in other seats. The group thought that a further 10 candidates could easily be found.
seems to have been declined, but Sir Alexander Grant gave £250 and the Duke of Westminster
gave £2,000 through Maundy Gregory
. National Labour had collected £20,000 in total for election expenses. At the start of the election MacDonald denied Labour Party claims that the funds had come from the Conservative Party
. MacDonald's Parliamentary Private Secretary
Frank Markham
and the junior minister Earl De La Warr
set up a National Labour Committee to run the election. De La Warr became Chairman.
began after a meeting on 25 September, when the Conservatives had reassured MacDonald that it would not be difficult to come to agreement. Frank Markham
then drafted a list of 35 constituencies where National Labour wanted to fight and wanted the Conservatives to support them. However the Conservatives objected to many of the entries such as Kensington North
and Birmingham Erdington, which were marginal former Conservative seats that had only narrowly gone to Labour in 1929. Local Conservatives refused to withdraw their candidates, as they did in Liverpool Everton
where sitting MP Derwent Hall Caine
found himself opposed (and eventually beaten) by a Conservative. By 14 October with the close of nominations imminent, persistent Conservative associations and candidates had forced National Labour candidates to withdraw in four constituencies and there were only 25 candidates confirmed, of which 10 had Conservative opposition.
MacDonald himself tried to intervene. On the day after the election was announced, he complained that Attorney-General Sir William Jowitt
had been forced out of Preston
and the Conservatives could not find a local association willing to accept him. Conservative Party chairman Lord Stonehaven
complained back to MacDonald about his promotion of "unknown candidates introduced at the very last moment by yourself" competing against Conservatives who had promised him their support, which risked handing the seats to the opposition. 20 candidates were actually nominated, with six facing a rival Conservative candidate and one a rival Liberal National
. Three more candidates withdrew before polling day. The general organisation of National Labour during the election was run by Benjamin Musgrave.
, and third, whether the National Government would continue for a long time and produce a single party of the centre. Usher argued that it was not possible to create a distinctive National Labour Party because any distinctive policy would threaten the unity of the National Government coalition. He also contended that MacDonald could not return to the Labour Party which harboured extreme bitterness about the manner in which the National Government was formed. Usher concluded that the public favoured a large centrist party but that existing political organisations would not permit it.
Early in 1932 a constitution and organisation was established and the monthly "News-Letter" set up for supporters which was edited by Clifford Allen
. An editorial in the first edition written by Allen emphasised that the News-Letter was "intended to be a means of contact between Labour supporters of the National Government" but also "begs the attention of public opinion." The editorship was later taken by Godfrey Elton
; both Allen and Elton received peerage
s from MacDonald. In September 1932, William Spofforth (formerly the Labour Party agent in Westhoughton
) was appointed as secretary.
Philip Snowden
, who as Chancellor of the Exchequer had been second only to MacDonald in becoming a prominent Labour member of the National Government, remained nominally one of the National Labour cabinet members after the election having received a Peerage. However Snowden rejected an invitation from Clifford Allen to write for the News-Letter, replying scathingly and declaring that "I really do not understand this National Labour Party". When Snowden resigned from the Government in opposition to the protectionist outcome of the Ottawa Conference in September 1932, he declared that he no longer had any party allegiance.
, where the Conservative Association might be persuaded to support Jowitt should the sitting National Labour member George Wilfrid Holford Knight stand down. Unexpectedly Holford Knight refused to comply; MacDonald was not angry with him but with the Conservatives for not offering a seat they held. In July 1932, a by-election arose in Wednesbury
, a seat which Labour had held at every election except 1931. De La Warr expressed to Stonehaven the hope that the local Conservatives would accept a National Labour candidate, but Stonehaven wrote back that the suggestion amazed him: he had tried, but the Wednesbury Conservative Association were obdurate in refusing to have a National Labour candidate which would mean handing over their organisation and funding the campaign. MacDonald may have considered resigning, although he decided only to refuse to send a message of support to the Conservative (who ended up losing the seat to Labour
). In its publicity, National Labour was concerned to stress that although Parliament was heavily dominated by the Conservatives, the cabinet was much more evenly balanced between the parties.
In 1933, a local electoral pact was agreed in Finsbury
between National Labour and the Municipal Reform Party
in advance of the London County Council
election in 1934. The Parliamentary constituency had a National Labour MP but the two LCC seats were held by Labour, and the pact agreed that Kenneth Lindsay
would run in conjunction with one Municipal Reform candidate in the election. In the event Michael Franklin of National Labour and Fordham Flower of Municipal Reform stood as 'National Municipal' candidates, but they failed to win seats.
regarded National Labour's significance as being "a central point around which people who desired political agreement could cohere". He noted that National Labour could attract to collectivist Socialism some who were put off by the resolutely working class character of the Labour Party, and cited Harold Nicolson
as a case in point.
In April 1935, a volume of essays by five leading National Labour politicians was published under the title "Towards a National Policy: being a National Labour Contribution"; MacDonald contributed a preface in which he argued that the Labour opposition "is as little guided by Socialist opinion and inspired by the fine human spirit of our British Socialism as any other political party of pure expediency striving for a majority". Lord Elton argued that trade unions should not affiliate to the Labour Party because they could achieve more by bargaining for support when not tied to one political party.
and became instead Lord President of the Council
. At the 1935 general election
the party sponsored 20 candidates and saw 8 of them elected. Immediately after the election, the News-Letter argued that Labour supporters of the National Government were hidden "thanks to the trade union 'terror'", and that the party ought to appeal for the votes of all socialists and trade unionists who were opposed to being herded into the political wilderness. When Ramsay MacDonald's son Malcolm
fought the Ross and Cromarty by-election
of 1936, he found himself opposed by Randolph Churchill
standing as a Conservative and arguing that 'National Labour' was a "sham device" with no real support. After learning of his son's success, Ramsay MacDonald corrected a correspondent who had referred to "Labour's
defeat" by asserting that "Labour was victorious, and a queer mixture which had neither principle nor political policy, now known as Opposition Labour, was defeated".
commending the party for striking "deeper roots than a group formed around a particular personality". Malcolm MacDonald took the leadership in Parliament and National Labour members retained office; the party issued a declaration of support for Neville Chamberlain
over the Munich Agreement
.
In the first edition of the News-Letter for 1939, a declaration from National Labour was printed. It pledged support for a united Empire, a strong League of Nations
("for bringing about constructive schemes of world appeasement, economic as well as political"), the national planning of our economic life, preservation of the countryside and the improvement of social services. When Germany invaded the whole of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, an editorial called for "a Government of national concentration" which would have to include "the trusted leaders of the trade unions and the Opposition parties". A Parliamentary motion from Anthony Eden
and Winston Churchill
calling for a National government "on the widest possible basis" was given support from the News-Letter in the following issue.
In the run-up to an expected general election in autumn 1939, several National Labour candidates were adopted and the party attracted some high-profile figures to defect to it (including former MP Michael Marcus
). The outbreak of war, delaying the election, forced the group to reconsider. In February 1940 it was announced that the party would not be holding an annual conference that year, and had suspended publication of "News Letter". In February 1942, Stephen King-Hall
resigned from the Parliamentary Party stating that he wanted to oppose the involvement of party political considerations in wartime. In May 1943 he was followed by Kenneth Lindsay
reducing the Parliamentary group to 5. Earl De La Warr resigned in August 1943, succeeded as Chairman by Richard Denman.
in recording the dissolution, considered the surprising thing to be that it took place in a year as late as 1945.
All five of the candidates were defeated in the election, although Kenneth Lindsay was re-elected as an Independent
after moving constituencies from Kilmarnock
to Combined English Universities
. The News-Letter continued, with an editorial line critical of the post-war Labour Government. In September 1946 it urged progressive members of the Conservative Party to discard their name and join together with the Liberal Party under another name; the editorial believed "the struggle for the future will be for individual rights against the omnipotent State, democracy against despotism". The last edition of the News-Letter was dated April-July 1947.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
political group formed after the 1931 creation of the National Government to co-ordinate the efforts of the supporters of the government who had come from 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...
. The most prominent Labour Party member involved in the Government was the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
. National Labour sponsored Parliamentary candidates but did not consider itself a full political party as it had no policy distinctive from that of the Government which it supported. After MacDonald's death, the group continued in existence until winding up on the eve of 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...
; its newsletter ceased publication two years later.
1931 election
The sudden decision to call a general electionUnited 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...
in October 1931 left Ramsay MacDonald and the other Labour supporters with the difficult job of organising their own re-elections without any form of organisation. Preparations had been started on 19 September, and by early October National Labour supporters had a list of 34 seats which they wanted to fight: 14 out of 15 sitting National Labour MPs wished to fight for re-election, and a further 10 candidates were ready to stand in other seats. The group thought that a further 10 candidates could easily be found.
Finance and organisation
MacDonald was adamant that National Labour must be separate and not connected to Conservative Central Office. An offer of £100,000 funding from Lord BeaverbrookMax Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Bt, PC, was a Canadian-British business tycoon, politician, and writer.-Early career in Canada:...
seems to have been declined, but Sir Alexander Grant gave £250 and the Duke of Westminster
Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster GCVO DSO was the son of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor and Lady Sibell Mary Lumley, the daughter of the 9th Earl of Scarborough...
gave £2,000 through Maundy Gregory
Maundy Gregory
Arthur Maundy Gregory was a British theatre producer and political fixer who is best remembered for selling honours for Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He may also have been involved with the Zinoviev Letter, the disappearance of Victor Grayson, and the suspicious death of his platonic...
. National Labour had collected £20,000 in total for election expenses. At the start of the election MacDonald denied Labour Party claims that the funds had come from the 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...
. MacDonald's Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
Frank Markham
Frank Markham
Sir Sydney Frank Markham was a British politician, who represented three parties in Parliament.He was elected as a Labour MP at the 1929 general election as MP for Chatham, and defected with Ramsay MacDonald to become a National Labour MP just before standing down at the 1931 general election...
and the junior minister Earl De La Warr
Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr
Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, GBE, PC, DL, JP , styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915 , was a British politician. He was the first hereditary peer to join the Labour Party and became a government minister at the age of 23...
set up a National Labour Committee to run the election. De La Warr became Chairman.
Candidates
Negotiations with Conservative Central OfficeConservative Campaign Headquarters
Conservative Campaign Headquarters , formerly known as Conservative Central Office is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members....
began after a meeting on 25 September, when the Conservatives had reassured MacDonald that it would not be difficult to come to agreement. Frank Markham
Frank Markham
Sir Sydney Frank Markham was a British politician, who represented three parties in Parliament.He was elected as a Labour MP at the 1929 general election as MP for Chatham, and defected with Ramsay MacDonald to become a National Labour MP just before standing down at the 1931 general election...
then drafted a list of 35 constituencies where National Labour wanted to fight and wanted the Conservatives to support them. However the Conservatives objected to many of the entries such as Kensington North
Kensington North (UK Parliament constituency)
Kensington North was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Kensington district of west London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
and Birmingham Erdington, which were marginal former Conservative seats that had only narrowly gone to Labour in 1929. Local Conservatives refused to withdraw their candidates, as they did in Liverpool Everton
Liverpool Everton (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Everton was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
where sitting MP Derwent Hall Caine
Derwent Hall Caine
Sir Derwent Hall Caine, 1st Baronet was a British actor, publisher and Labour politician.Caine was born into an Isle of Man family, the son of novelist Hall Caine and his wife Mary Chandler. He was born at Keswick in Cumberland, and so derived his name from the nearby lake of Derwent Water...
found himself opposed (and eventually beaten) by a Conservative. By 14 October with the close of nominations imminent, persistent Conservative associations and candidates had forced National Labour candidates to withdraw in four constituencies and there were only 25 candidates confirmed, of which 10 had Conservative opposition.
MacDonald himself tried to intervene. On the day after the election was announced, he complained that Attorney-General Sir William Jowitt
William Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt
William Allen Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt PC, KC , was a British Labour politician and lawyer, who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain under Clement Attlee from 1945 to 1951.-Background and education:...
had been forced out of Preston
Preston (UK Parliament constituency)
Preston is a borough 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 system of election.-Boundaries:...
and the Conservatives could not find a local association willing to accept him. Conservative Party chairman Lord Stonehaven
John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven
John Lawrence Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven, GCMG, DSO, PC, JP, DL , known as Sir John Baird, Bt, between 1920 and 1925 and as The Lord Stonehaven between 1925 and 1928, was a British Conservative politician, who served as a Member of Parliament, government minister, and was later the eighth...
complained back to MacDonald about his promotion of "unknown candidates introduced at the very last moment by yourself" competing against Conservatives who had promised him their support, which risked handing the seats to the opposition. 20 candidates were actually nominated, with six facing a rival Conservative candidate and one a rival Liberal National
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)
The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...
. Three more candidates withdrew before polling day. The general organisation of National Labour during the election was run by Benjamin Musgrave.
Creation of the organisation
In December, MacDonald's private secretary Herbert Usher wrote a long memorandum asking key questions about what type of ongoing organisation was needed. Usher stated that MacDonald needed to answer three crucial questions: first, whether he wanted to form a new party; second, whether he envisaged returning to the Labour PartyLabour 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...
, and third, whether the National Government would continue for a long time and produce a single party of the centre. Usher argued that it was not possible to create a distinctive National Labour Party because any distinctive policy would threaten the unity of the National Government coalition. He also contended that MacDonald could not return to the Labour Party which harboured extreme bitterness about the manner in which the National Government was formed. Usher concluded that the public favoured a large centrist party but that existing political organisations would not permit it.
Early in 1932 a constitution and organisation was established and the monthly "News-Letter" set up for supporters which was edited by Clifford Allen
Clifford Allen, 1st Baron Allen of Hurtwood
Reginald Clifford Allen, 1st Baron Allen of Hurtwood , known as Clifford Allen, was a British politician and prominent pacifist.-Career:...
. An editorial in the first edition written by Allen emphasised that the News-Letter was "intended to be a means of contact between Labour supporters of the National Government" but also "begs the attention of public opinion." The editorship was later taken by Godfrey Elton
Godfrey Elton, 1st Baron Elton
Godfrey Elton, 1st Baron Elton , was a British historian.-Early life:Elton was the eldest son of Edward Fiennes Elton and his wife Violet Hylda Fletcher. He was educated at Rugby and Balliol College, Oxford. At Oxford he at first studies classics but later turned to history...
; both Allen and Elton received peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
s from MacDonald. In September 1932, William Spofforth (formerly the Labour Party agent in Westhoughton
Westhoughton (UK Parliament constituency)
Westhoughton was a parliamentary constituency in Lancashire, England. Centred on the former mining and cotton town of Westhoughton, it returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
) was appointed as secretary.
Philip Snowden
Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden
Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden PC was a British politician and the first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, a position he held in 1924 and again between 1929 and 1931.-Early life: 1864–1906:...
, who as Chancellor of the Exchequer had been second only to MacDonald in becoming a prominent Labour member of the National Government, remained nominally one of the National Labour cabinet members after the election having received a Peerage. However Snowden rejected an invitation from Clifford Allen to write for the News-Letter, replying scathingly and declaring that "I really do not understand this National Labour Party". When Snowden resigned from the Government in opposition to the protectionist outcome of the Ottawa Conference in September 1932, he declared that he no longer had any party allegiance.
Relations with the Conservatives
After the election MacDonald persisted in trying to find a seat for Jowitt. All that Stonehaven would offer was Nottingham SouthNottingham South (UK Parliament constituency)
Nottingham South is a borough 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 system of election....
, where the Conservative Association might be persuaded to support Jowitt should the sitting National Labour member George Wilfrid Holford Knight stand down. Unexpectedly Holford Knight refused to comply; MacDonald was not angry with him but with the Conservatives for not offering a seat they held. In July 1932, a by-election arose in Wednesbury
Wednesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Wednesbury was a borough constituency in England's Black Country which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election....
, a seat which Labour had held at every election except 1931. De La Warr expressed to Stonehaven the hope that the local Conservatives would accept a National Labour candidate, but Stonehaven wrote back that the suggestion amazed him: he had tried, but the Wednesbury Conservative Association were obdurate in refusing to have a National Labour candidate which would mean handing over their organisation and funding the campaign. MacDonald may have considered resigning, although he decided only to refuse to send a message of support to the Conservative (who ended up losing the seat to Labour
Wednesbury by-election, 1932
The Wednesbury by-election, 1932 was a by-election held on 26 July 1932 for the British House of Commons constituency of Wednesbury in Staffordshire...
). In its publicity, National Labour was concerned to stress that although Parliament was heavily dominated by the Conservatives, the cabinet was much more evenly balanced between the parties.
In 1933, a local electoral pact was agreed in Finsbury
Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury
The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington.- Boundaries :...
between National Labour and the Municipal Reform Party
Municipal Reform Party
The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 1945.-Formation:...
in advance of the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
election in 1934. The Parliamentary constituency had a National Labour MP but the two LCC seats were held by Labour, and the pact agreed that Kenneth Lindsay
Kenneth Lindsay
Kenneth Martin Lindsay was a Labour Party politician on the United Kingdom who joined the breakaway National Labour group....
would run in conjunction with one Municipal Reform candidate in the election. In the event Michael Franklin of National Labour and Fordham Flower of Municipal Reform stood as 'National Municipal' candidates, but they failed to win seats.
Policy and publicity
While National Labour could not advocate any policy in opposition to the National Government, its members did propound policy suggestions and argue in support of Government policy. A pamphlet called "On the Home Front" published in April 1934, outlined the National Labour argument in support of the National Government's domestic policy; it argued that the agricultural policy followed by the Government had "the characteristic Conservative policy of a tariff" as well as "the characteristic Socialist State organisation of industry", and therefore showed what the Government "owes to the traditional doctrines of not one, but all, Parties in the State". The pamphlet asserted that returning to the old party system would mean weak government, and that it was weak government which had led other European countries to dictatorship. Looking back on the politics of the 1930s in a 1964 article, Professor Arthur MarwickArthur Marwick
Arthur John Brereton Marwick was a professor in history. Born in Edinburgh, he was a graduate of Edinburgh University and Balliol College, Oxford. - Career :...
regarded National Labour's significance as being "a central point around which people who desired political agreement could cohere". He noted that National Labour could attract to collectivist Socialism some who were put off by the resolutely working class character of the Labour Party, and cited Harold Nicolson
Harold Nicolson
Sir Harold George Nicolson KCVO CMG was an English diplomat, author, diarist and politician. He was the husband of writer Vita Sackville-West, their unusual relationship being described in their son's book, Portrait of a Marriage.-Early life:Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the younger son of...
as a case in point.
In April 1935, a volume of essays by five leading National Labour politicians was published under the title "Towards a National Policy: being a National Labour Contribution"; MacDonald contributed a preface in which he argued that the Labour opposition "is as little guided by Socialist opinion and inspired by the fine human spirit of our British Socialism as any other political party of pure expediency striving for a majority". Lord Elton argued that trade unions should not affiliate to the Labour Party because they could achieve more by bargaining for support when not tied to one political party.
1935 election
MacDonald remained Prime Minister as the head of a coalition government until June 1935 when he gave way to Stanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
and became instead Lord President of the Council
Lord President of the Council
The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...
. At the 1935 general 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...
the party sponsored 20 candidates and saw 8 of them elected. Immediately after the election, the News-Letter argued that Labour supporters of the National Government were hidden "thanks to the trade union 'terror'", and that the party ought to appeal for the votes of all socialists and trade unionists who were opposed to being herded into the political wilderness. When Ramsay MacDonald's son Malcolm
Malcolm MacDonald
Malcolm John MacDonald OM, PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Background:MacDonald was the son of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and Margaret MacDonald. Like his father he was born in Lossiemouth, Moray...
fought the Ross and Cromarty by-election
Ross and Cromarty by-election, 1936
The Ross and Cromarty by-election, 1936 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Ross and Cromarty held on 10 February 1936. The by-election was triggered when Sir Ian Macpherson, a Liberal National was given a peerage...
of 1936, he found himself opposed by Randolph Churchill
Randolph Churchill
Major Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill, MBE was the son of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Preston from 1940 to 1945....
standing as a Conservative and arguing that 'National Labour' was a "sham device" with no real support. After learning of his son's success, Ramsay MacDonald corrected a correspondent who had referred to "Labour's
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...
defeat" by asserting that "Labour was victorious, and a queer mixture which had neither principle nor political policy, now known as Opposition Labour, was defeated".
Later years
On 18 October 1937, Ramsay MacDonald officially opened the new headquarters of the National Labour Organisation at 57 Tufton Street.A month later MacDonald was dead. The National Labour Organisation continued, although it postponed its conference until March 1938. When the conference happened, The Times greeted it with a leaderEditorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
commending the party for striking "deeper roots than a group formed around a particular personality". Malcolm MacDonald took the leadership in Parliament and National Labour members retained office; the party issued a declaration of support for Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
over the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
.
In the first edition of the News-Letter for 1939, a declaration from National Labour was printed. It pledged support for a united Empire, a strong League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
("for bringing about constructive schemes of world appeasement, economic as well as political"), the national planning of our economic life, preservation of the countryside and the improvement of social services. When Germany invaded the whole of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, an editorial called for "a Government of national concentration" which would have to include "the trusted leaders of the trade unions and the Opposition parties". A Parliamentary motion from Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
calling for a National government "on the widest possible basis" was given support from the News-Letter in the following issue.
In the run-up to an expected general election in autumn 1939, several National Labour candidates were adopted and the party attracted some high-profile figures to defect to it (including former MP Michael Marcus
Michael Marcus (politician)
Michael Marcus was a Labour party politician in Scotland.He was elected at the 1929 general election as one of the two Members of Parliament for Dundee, but was defeated at the 1931 general election. He stood again in 1935, but did not regain his seat.- External links :...
). The outbreak of war, delaying the election, forced the group to reconsider. In February 1940 it was announced that the party would not be holding an annual conference that year, and had suspended publication of "News Letter". In February 1942, Stephen King-Hall
Stephen King-Hall
Sir William Stephen Richard King-Hall, Baron King-Hall of Headley was a British naval officer, writer, politician and playwright. -Life:...
resigned from the Parliamentary Party stating that he wanted to oppose the involvement of party political considerations in wartime. In May 1943 he was followed by Kenneth Lindsay
Kenneth Lindsay
Kenneth Martin Lindsay was a Labour Party politician on the United Kingdom who joined the breakaway National Labour group....
reducing the Parliamentary group to 5. Earl De La Warr resigned in August 1943, succeeded as Chairman by Richard Denman.
Dissolution
A special conference of the National Labour Organisation on 14 June 1945 decided to dissolve the party and the five remaining adopted Parliamentary candidates were redesignated to run as 'National' candidates. The organisation issued a closing statement which praised the Labour Party for joining the Coalition in 1940, and condemned it for breaking up the Coalition immediately after victory in Europe. It called "all men and women of progressive outlook" to vote to re-elect the Churchill government. The "Election Diary" in The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
in recording the dissolution, considered the surprising thing to be that it took place in a year as late as 1945.
All five of the candidates were defeated in the election, although Kenneth Lindsay was re-elected as an Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
after moving constituencies from Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (UK Parliament constituency)
Kilmarnock was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
to Combined English Universities
Combined English Universities (UK Parliament constituency)
Combined English Universities was a university constituency represented in the United Kingdom Parliament . It was formed by enfranchising and combining all the English Universities, except for Cambridge, Oxford and London, which were already separately represented.-Boundaries:This University...
. The News-Letter continued, with an editorial line critical of the post-war Labour Government. In September 1946 it urged progressive members of the Conservative Party to discard their name and join together with the Liberal Party under another name; the editorial believed "the struggle for the future will be for individual rights against the omnipotent State, democracy against despotism". The last edition of the News-Letter was dated April-July 1947.
Candidacies
The candidates sponsored by the National Labour committee and the subsequent National Labour Organisation were as follows. Those listed in bold were successful.| Date of election | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
Bassetlaw Bassetlaw (UK Parliament constituency) Bassetlaw 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 system of election.-Boundaries:... |
Malcolm James MacDonald Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm John MacDonald OM, PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Background:MacDonald was the son of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and Margaret MacDonald. Like his father he was born in Lossiemouth, Moray... |
27,136 | 66.6 | Sitting MP re-elected |
| Cardiff Central Cardiff Central (UK Parliament constituency) Cardiff Central is a borough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.... |
Sir Ernest Nathaniel Bennett Ernest Nathaniel Bennett Sir Ernest Nathaniel Bennett was a British politician and writer. He was a Member of Parliament for Woodstock , and for Cardiff Central from 1929 until he retired in 1945. A close ally of Ramsay Macdonald, he followed Macdonald away from the Labour Party and supported National Labour from... |
24,120 | 69.2 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Colne Valley Colne Valley (UK Parliament constituency) Colne Valley is a county 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 system of election. In the post-war period the seat had the distinction of being one of the few Labour/Liberal marginals,... |
Michael Arthur Ernest Franklin | 202 | 0.5 | Not endorsed by the Conservatives; retired after nomination | |
| Combined English Universities Combined English Universities (UK Parliament constituency) Combined English Universities was a university constituency represented in the United Kingdom Parliament . It was formed by enfranchising and combining all the English Universities, except for Cambridge, Oxford and London, which were already separately represented.-Boundaries:This University... |
Rt Hon Sir William Allen Jowitt William Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt William Allen Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt PC, KC , was a British Labour politician and lawyer, who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain under Clement Attlee from 1945 to 1951.-Background and education:... |
2,759 | 20.1 | Not endorsed by the Conservatives; Sitting MP (for Preston Preston (UK Parliament constituency) Preston is a borough 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 system of election.-Boundaries:... ) defeated |
|
| Derby Derby (UK Parliament constituency) Derby is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950. It was represented by two Members of... |
Rt Hon James Henry Thomas James Henry Thomas James Henry "Jimmy" Thomas was a British trade unionist and Labour politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks.-Early career and Trade Union activities:... |
39,688 | 35.4 | Two-member seat; elected with a Conservative | |
| Essex South East | Felix Greene | 6,539 | 11.5 | Not endorsed by the Conservatives | |
| Finsbury Finsbury (UK Parliament constituency) The parliamentary borough of Finsbury was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1885, and from 1918 to 1950. The constituency created in 1832 included part of the county of Middlesex north of the City of London and was named after the Finsbury... |
Sir George Masterman Gillett | 17,292 | 63.1 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Forest of Dean Forest of Dean (UK Parliament constituency) -Elections in the 2000s:- See also :* List of Parliamentary constituencies in Gloucestershire... |
Dr John Vigers Worthington John Vigers Worthington Sir John Vigers Worthington was a British surgeon and businessman, who later went into politics. After securing a remarkable election victory he served in Parliament in the early 1930s, being an unpaid assistant to Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald... |
14,815 | 52.7 | ||
| Gateshead Gateshead (UK Parliament constituency) Gateshead is a borough 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 system of election. A previous Gateshead constituency existed from 1832 to 1950.... |
John Fennell | 187 | 0.3 | Retired after nomination in favour of a Liberal National | |
| Ilkeston Ilkeston (UK Parliament constituency) Ilkeston is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was represented by one Member of Parliament... |
Abraham John Flint Abraham Flint Abraham John Flint DL was a British barrister. He briefly enjoyed a political career, being elected to the House of Commons by the narrowest majority under universal franchise and serving for a single term as a supporter of National Labour... |
17,587 | 50.0 | Majority 2 votes | |
| Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (UK Parliament constituency) Kilmarnock was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.... |
Rt Hon Craigie Mason Aitchison | 21,803 | 59.6 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Leeds Central Leeds Central (UK Parliament constituency) Leeds Central is a borough 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 system of election.- Boundaries :... |
Hon Richard Douglas Denman | 26,496 | 71.4 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Lichfield Lichfield (UK Parliament constituency) Lichfield is a 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 system of election.- Boundaries :... |
James Alexander Lovat-Fraser James Lovat-Fraser James Alexander Lovat-Fraser was a British Labour Party and then National Labour politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1929 to 1938.He unsuccessfully contested Llandaff and Barry at the 1922 general election,... |
26,669 | 62.8 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Liverpool Everton Liverpool Everton (UK Parliament constituency) Liverpool Everton was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:... |
Derwent Hall Caine Derwent Hall Caine Sir Derwent Hall Caine, 1st Baronet was a British actor, publisher and Labour politician.Caine was born into an Isle of Man family, the son of novelist Hall Caine and his wife Mary Chandler. He was born at Keswick in Cumberland, and so derived his name from the nearby lake of Derwent Water... |
4,950 | 19.9 | Not endorsed by the Conservatives; sitting MP defeated | |
| Newcastle upon Tyne Central Newcastle upon Tyne Central (UK Parliament constituency) Newcastle upon Tyne Central is a borough 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 system of election.- Boundaries :... |
William Henry Dashwood Caple | 94 | 0.3 | Not endorsed by the Conservatives; retired after nomination | |
| Nottingham South Nottingham South (UK Parliament constituency) Nottingham South is a borough 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 system of election.... |
George Wilfred Holford Knight | 22,852 | 68.3 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Ormskirk Ormskirk (UK Parliament constituency) Ormskirk was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as a division of the parliamentary county of... |
Samuel Thomas Rosbotham | 30,368 | 75.0 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Peckham Peckham (UK Parliament constituency) Peckham was a borough constituency in South London which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom... |
Ernest James Titler | 1,442 | 4.3 | Not endorsed by the Conservatives | |
| Seaham Seaham (UK Parliament constituency) Seaham was a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was in existence between 1918 and 1950. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election... |
Rt Hon James Ramsay MacDonald Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms.... |
28,978 | 55.0 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Tottenham South Tottenham South (UK Parliament constituency) Tottenham South was a parliamentary constituency in Tottenham, in North London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:... |
Francis Noel Palmer Francis Noel Palmer Francis Noel Palmer was a British politician.He was the son of Nathaniel Palmer of Yarmouth. In 1906 he joined the Labour Party. During the First World War he was granted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Essex Regiment, but was discharged from the army with tuberculosis... |
17,824 | 58.6 | ||
| 2 November 1933 Kilmarnock by-election, 1933 The Kilmarnock by-election, 1933 was a by-election held on 2 November 1933 for the British House of Commons constituency of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire.- Vacancy :... |
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (UK Parliament constituency) Kilmarnock was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.... |
Kenneth Martin Lindsay Kenneth Lindsay Kenneth Martin Lindsay was a Labour Party politician on the United Kingdom who joined the breakaway National Labour group.... |
12,577 | 34.8 | Seat held |
| 23 October 1934 | Lambeth North Lambeth North (UK Parliament constituency) Lambeth North was a borough constituency centred on the Lambeth district of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.- History :... |
Sydney Frank Markham Frank Markham Sir Sydney Frank Markham was a British politician, who represented three parties in Parliament.He was elected as a Labour MP at the 1929 general election as MP for Chatham, and defected with Ramsay MacDonald to become a National Labour MP just before standing down at the 1931 general election... |
2,927 | 15.0 | |
| 1935 general 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... |
Bassetlaw Bassetlaw (UK Parliament constituency) Bassetlaw 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 system of election.-Boundaries:... |
Malcolm James MacDonald Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm John MacDonald OM, PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Background:MacDonald was the son of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and Margaret MacDonald. Like his father he was born in Lossiemouth, Moray... |
20,764 | 48.7 | Sitting MP defeated |
| Bristol East Bristol East (UK Parliament constituency) Bristol East is a borough 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 system of election.-Boundaries:... |
Archibald George Church | 15,126 | 40.7 | ||
| Cardiff Central Cardiff Central (UK Parliament constituency) Cardiff Central is a borough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.... |
Sir Ernest Nathaniel Bennett Ernest Nathaniel Bennett Sir Ernest Nathaniel Bennett was a British politician and writer. He was a Member of Parliament for Woodstock , and for Cardiff Central from 1929 until he retired in 1945. A close ally of Ramsay Macdonald, he followed Macdonald away from the Labour Party and supported National Labour from... |
16,954 | 51.6 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Derby Derby (UK Parliament constituency) Derby is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950. It was represented by two Members of... |
Rt Hon James Henry Thomas James Henry Thomas James Henry "Jimmy" Thomas was a British trade unionist and Labour politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks.-Early career and Trade Union activities:... |
37,566 | 30.1 | Two-member seat; elected with a Conservative | |
| Dewsbury Dewsbury (UK Parliament constituency) Dewsbury is a 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 system of election... |
John Fennell | 8,798 | 29.5 | ||
| Finsbury Finsbury (UK Parliament constituency) The parliamentary borough of Finsbury was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1885, and from 1918 to 1950. The constituency created in 1832 included part of the county of Middlesex north of the City of London and was named after the Finsbury... |
Sir George Masterman Gillett | 10,600 | 44.2 | Sitting MP defeated | |
| Forest of Dean Forest of Dean (UK Parliament constituency) -Elections in the 2000s:- See also :* List of Parliamentary constituencies in Gloucestershire... |
Sir John Vigers Worthington John Vigers Worthington Sir John Vigers Worthington was a British surgeon and businessman, who later went into politics. After securing a remarkable election victory he served in Parliament in the early 1930s, being an unpaid assistant to Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald... |
12,337 | 42.4 | Sitting MP defeated | |
| Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (UK Parliament constituency) Kilmarnock was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.... |
Kenneth Martin Lindsay Kenneth Lindsay Kenneth Martin Lindsay was a Labour Party politician on the United Kingdom who joined the breakaway National Labour group.... |
19,115 | 50.9 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Leeds Central Leeds Central (UK Parliament constituency) Leeds Central is a borough 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 system of election.- Boundaries :... |
Hon Richard Douglas Denman | 17,747 | 56.4 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Leek Leek (UK Parliament constituency) Leek was a parliamentary constituency in Staffordshire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.... |
Leslie Montagu Thomas Leslie Thomas (politician) Sir Leslie Montagu Thomas was a British Conservative politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Canterbury in a 1953 by-election, and served until he stood down in 1966.... |
17,419 | 42.6 | ||
| Leicester West Leicester West (UK Parliament constituency) Leicester West is a borough 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 system of election.- Boundaries :... |
Hon Harold George Nicolson Harold Nicolson Sir Harold George Nicolson KCVO CMG was an English diplomat, author, diarist and politician. He was the husband of writer Vita Sackville-West, their unusual relationship being described in their son's book, Portrait of a Marriage.-Early life:Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the younger son of... |
15,821 | 43.7 | Majority 87 votes | |
| Lichfield Lichfield (UK Parliament constituency) Lichfield is a 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 system of election.- Boundaries :... |
James Alexander Lovat-Fraser James Lovat-Fraser James Alexander Lovat-Fraser was a British Labour Party and then National Labour politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1929 to 1938.He unsuccessfully contested Llandaff and Barry at the 1922 general election,... |
23,489 | 53.8 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Middlesbrough West Middlesbrough West (UK Parliament constituency) Middlesbrough West was a parliamentary constituency in the town of Middlesbrough in North East England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.... |
William Arthur Spofforth | 11,387 | 30.1 | ||
| Nottingham South Nottingham South (UK Parliament constituency) Nottingham South is a borough 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 system of election.... |
Sydney Frank Markham Frank Markham Sir Sydney Frank Markham was a British politician, who represented three parties in Parliament.He was elected as a Labour MP at the 1929 general election as MP for Chatham, and defected with Ramsay MacDonald to become a National Labour MP just before standing down at the 1931 general election... |
15,559 | 52.3 | Seat held | |
| Ormskirk Ormskirk (UK Parliament constituency) Ormskirk was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as a division of the parliamentary county of... |
Sir Samuel Thomas Rosbotham | 27,624 | 58.5 | Sitting MP re-elected | |
| Seaham Seaham (UK Parliament constituency) Seaham was a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was in existence between 1918 and 1950. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election... |
Rt Hon James Ramsay MacDonald Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms.... |
17,882 | 31.8 | Sitting MP defeated | |
| Southwark Central Southwark Central (UK Parliament constituency) Southwark Central was a borough constituency returning a single Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom through the first past the post voting system... |
Ernest Stanford | 9,735 | 46.7 | ||
| South Shields South Shields (UK Parliament constituency) South Shields is a borough 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 system of election.-Boundaries:... |
Frederick Frank Arthur Burden Frederick Burden Sir Frederick Frank Arthur Burden was a British Conservative politician.-Early life:Burden was educated at the Sloane School, Chelsea and was British schools boxing champion 1921-22... |
10,784 | 23.6 | ||
| Tottenham South Tottenham South (UK Parliament constituency) Tottenham South was a parliamentary constituency in Tottenham, in North London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:... |
Francis Noel Palmer Francis Noel Palmer Francis Noel Palmer was a British politician.He was the son of Nathaniel Palmer of Yarmouth. In 1906 he joined the Labour Party. During the First World War he was granted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Essex Regiment, but was discharged from the army with tuberculosis... |
15,834 | 41.5 | Sitting MP defeated | |
| Wednesbury Wednesbury (UK Parliament constituency) Wednesbury was a borough constituency in England's Black Country which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.... |
Rev Herbert Dunnico Herbert Dunnico Rev Sir Herbert Dunnico was a British Baptist minister, leading Freemason and Labour Party politician.... |
19,883 | 46.7 | ||
| 27-31 January 1936 Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936 The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936 was a by-election held from 27 January to 31 January 1936 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :... |
Combined Scottish Universities | Rt Hon James Ramsay MacDonald Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms.... |
16,393 | 56.5 | |
| 10 February 1936 Ross and Cromarty by-election, 1936 The Ross and Cromarty by-election, 1936 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Ross and Cromarty held on 10 February 1936. The by-election was triggered when Sir Ian Macpherson, a Liberal National was given a peerage... |
Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (UK Parliament constituency) Ross and Cromarty was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1983. The constituency elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system.... |
Rt Hon Malcolm James MacDonald Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm John MacDonald OM, PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Background:MacDonald was the son of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and Margaret MacDonald. Like his father he was born in Lossiemouth, Moray... |
8,949 | 49.5 | |
| 9 July 1936 | Derby Derby (UK Parliament constituency) Derby is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950. It was represented by two Members of... |
Archibald George Church | 25,666 | 47.5 | Failed to hold seat |
| 5 May 1938 | Lichfield Lichfield (UK Parliament constituency) Lichfield is a 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 system of election.- Boundaries :... |
George Beresford Craddock Beresford Craddock Sir Beresford Craddock was a British Conservative politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Spelthorne at the 1950 general election, and held the seat until his retirement at the 1970 general election... |
22,760 | 49.1 | Failed to hold seat |
| 27 October 1939 | Ormskirk Ormskirk (UK Parliament constituency) Ormskirk was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as a division of the parliamentary county of... |
William Stephen Richard King-Hall Stephen King-Hall Sir William Stephen Richard King-Hall, Baron King-Hall of Headley was a British naval officer, writer, politician and playwright. -Life:... |
- | - | Elected unopposed; held seat |