Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election, 1942
Encyclopedia
The Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election, 1942 was a by-election
held for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Newcastle-under-Lyme
on 11 March 1942. The seat had become vacant when the Labour
Member of Parliament
(MP) Josiah Wedgwood
was elevated to the peerage as Baron Wedgwood
. He had held the seat since the 1906 general election
.
The Labour candidate, John Mack
, was returned unopposed; during the Second World War the parties in the wartime coalition government
had a pact not to contest by-elections in seats held. He represented the constituency until he retired from the House of Commons at the 1951 general election
.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held 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 Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme (UK Parliament constituency)
Newcastle-under-Lyme 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.- History :...
on 11 March 1942. The seat had become vacant when the 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) Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood
Colonel Josiah Clement Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood, DSO, PC, DL sometimes referred to as Josiah Wedgwood IV was a British Liberal and Labour politician who served in government under Ramsay MacDonald...
was elevated to the peerage as Baron Wedgwood
Baron Wedgwood
Baron Wedgwood, of Barlaston in the County of Stafford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1942 for the soldier and politician Josiah Wedgwood. He was the great-great-grandson of Josiah Wedgwood, the founder of the Wedgwood pottery dynasty...
. He had held the seat since the 1906 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
.
The Labour candidate, John Mack
John Mack (UK politician)
John David Mack, was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament from 1942 to 1951....
, was returned unopposed; during the Second World War the parties in the wartime coalition government
Coalition Government 1940-1945
Members of the War Cabinet are in bold face.-Source:* D. Butler and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000....
had a pact not to contest by-elections in seats held. He represented the constituency until he retired from the House of Commons at the 1951 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
.