Paisley by-election, 1920 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Paisley by-election, 1920 was a parliamentary by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

held on 12 February 1920 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 of Paisley

Paisley (UK Parliament constituency)

Paisley was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1983, when it was divided into Paisley North and Paisley South...

in Scotland. It was caused by the death of the constituency's sitting 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...

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 John Mills McCallum

John Mills McCallum

Sir John Mills McCallum was a Scottish soap manufacturer and Liberal politician.-Family and education:McCallum was born in Paisley the son of John McCallum who was originally from Kintyre and was a partner in a firm of dyers. McCallum attended Allan Glen's School in Glasgow to pursue studies in...

Asquith’s return

The by-election provided an opportunity for the return to Parliament of H H Asquith, the former prime minister who had lost his seat at East Fife at the 1918 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1918

The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...

in the aftermath of the split in the Liberal Party between those who supported the coalition of David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...

with the Conservatives

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 the supporters of Asquith’s independent Liberals, or ‘Wee Frees.’ The by-election seemed to be a triumph for the Independent Liberals with a majority of 2,834 votes over 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...

and a blow for the government with the Coalition Conservative candidate losing his deposit.

Asquith’s return

The result

Further reading