Pontefract by-election, 1919 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Pontefract by-election, 1919 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 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 Pontefract

Pontefract (UK Parliament constituency)

Pontefract was an English parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Pontefract in the West Riding of Yorkshire, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons briefly in the 13th century and again from 1621 until 1885, and one member from 1885 to 1974.-In the unreformed...

in Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

on 6 September 1919.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the death on 30 July 1919 of the sitting Coalition 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,...

, Joseph Compton-Rickett

Joseph Compton-Rickett

Sir Joseph Compton-Rickett was a Liberal Party politician in England. He was Member of Parliament for Scarborough from 1895 to 1906, for Osgoldcross from 1906 to 1918, and for the Pontefract constituency that largely replaced it from 1918 until his death the following year...

Candidates

The by-election was a straight fight between Isaac Burns for 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 nominee of the Yorkshire Miners' Association

Yorkshire Miners' Association

The Yorkshire Miners' Association was a British trade union.The union was founded in 1881 with the merger of the South Yorkshire Miners' Association, and the West Yorkshire Miners' Association, agreed only because both organisations were weakened by unsuccessful disputes...

and Walter Forrest

Walter Forrest

Walter Forrest was a British Liberal, later Liberal National politician and businessman.-Birth and family:Walter Forrest was the son of Sir William Forrest of Roundhay a district of Leeds. Sir William Forrest was a textile manufacturer...

, a woollen manufacturer from Pudsey

Pudsey

Pudsey is a market town in West Yorkshire, England. Once an independent town, it was incorporated into the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds in 1974, and is located midway between Bradford and Leeds city centres. It has a population of 32,391....

for the Coalition Government

Coalition Government 1916-1922

The Coalition Government of David Lloyd George came to power in the United Kingdom in December 1916, replacing the earlier wartime coalition under H.H. Asquith, which had been held responsible for reverses during the Great War. Those Liberals who continued to support Asquith served as the Opposition...

of Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

David Lloyd George

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

, although the Liberals apparently had some trouble in finding a candidate at first. The local 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...

endorsed the candidacy of their Coalition partners and the Independent Aquithian Liberals did not bring a forward a candidate.

Labour

The health of the coal mining industry was an issue which Isaac Burns particularly sought to make his own against the background of a coal strike taking place in the area. He was hampered by the fact that although coal mining was a major industry in the area, the principal colliery towns had been attached to other constituencies in boundary changes and mining was not necessarily decisive as there were many other interests in the constituency. Agriculture dominated around Barkston Ash

Barkston Ash

Barkston Ash is a small village and civil parish close to Selby in North Yorkshire, England. Until recently it was officially called Barkston. A local legend has it that the ash tree which stands in the centre of the village and gives it its name also marks the exact centre of Yorkshire, and that...

and there was shipping and coastal trades around Goole

Goole

Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...

. Many in these industries were adversely affected by the coal strike and were unsympathetic to Burns and Labour as a result. Burns stated he was in favour of a number of Labour policies including equal adult franchise for both sexes, pensions for mothers and free secondary education for all. He was in favour of widespread nationalisation of industry and a programme of public works to keep down unemployment. He also wanted Home Rule for Ireland and local government for India.

Liberal

Walter Forrest set out his position on a number of questions at his meetings of both the local Coalition Liberals Unionist

Conservative Party (UK)

parties. He was opposed to the nationalisation of the coal mines and conscription, in favour of some relaxation of the liquor laws for the benefit of working men and improved welfare for men disabled in the war; he was also in favour of the full restoration of trade and commerce as soon as conditions allowed, to increase output and living standards. He also strongly advocated economy and retrenchment but one of the Liberal MPs who visited the constituency to speak for him, Dr T J Macnamara

Thomas James Macnamara

Thomas James Macnamara PC , was a British teacher, educationalist and Liberal politician.-Education:Macnamara was born in Montreal, Canada, the son of a soldier originally from County Clare in Ireland. His family returned to Britain in 1869 and Macnamara was educated first at the Depot School in...

the Secretary to the Admiralty, in a speech designed to protect the position of his Department and no doubt appeal to the patriotic feelings of working class and Unionist voters, was keen to point out that national security must take precedence over economy.

The Result

Forrest retained the seat for the government but with a reduced majority, down from 3,514 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...

to 1,475.

Vacancy

Candidates

Labour

Liberal

The Result

Votes

See also