Spennymoor by-election, 1942
Encyclopedia
The Spennymoor by-election, 1942 was a parliamentary by-election
held on 21 July 1942 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Spennymoor
in County Durham
.
The seat had become vacant when the Labour
Member of Parliament
(MP) Joseph Batey
had resigned from the House of Commons
on 6 July 1942, by the procedural device of accepting the post of Steward of the Manor of Northstead. Batey had held the seat since the 1922 general election
.
.
The parties in the war-time Coalition Government
had agreed not to contest vacancies in seats held by other coalition parties, but other by-elections had been contested by independent candidates or those from minor parties. (The most recent was Maldon in June 1940
, where an independent Labour candidate won what had previously been a safe seat
for the Conservative
s).
.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 21 July 1942 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 Spennymoor
Spennymoor (UK Parliament constituency)
Spennymoor was a county constituency centred on the town of Spennymoor in County Durham. 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:...
in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
.
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) Joseph Batey
Joseph Batey
Joseph Batey was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected at the 1922 election as Member of Parliament for the Spennymoor constituency in County Durham, which he had contested unsuccessfully at the 1918 election...
had resigned from the House of Commons
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
on 6 July 1942, by the procedural device of accepting the post of Steward of the Manor of Northstead. Batey had held the seat since the 1922 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
.
Candidates
The Labour party selected as its candidate the 54-year-old James Dixon MurrayJames Dixon Murray
James "Jim" "Jimmy" "JD" Dixon Murray was a British coal miner and Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.-Early life and education:...
.
The parties in the war-time 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 agreed not to contest vacancies in seats held by other coalition parties, but other by-elections had been contested by independent candidates or those from minor parties. (The most recent was Maldon in June 1940
Maldon by-election, 1942
The Maldon by-election, 1942 was a parliamentary by-election held on 25 June 1942 for the British House of Commons constituency of Maldon in Essex...
, where an independent Labour candidate won what had previously been a safe seat
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
for the Conservative
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...
s).
Results
No other candidates were nominated in Spennymoor, so Murray was returned unopposed. He held the Spennymoor seat until the constituency's abolition for the 1950 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
.
Votes
See also
- Spennymoor constituencySpennymoor (UK Parliament constituency)Spennymoor was a county constituency centred on the town of Spennymoor in County Durham. 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:...
- SpennymoorSpennymoorSpennymoor is a town in County Durham, England. It stands above the Wear Valley approximately seven miles south of Durham. The town was founded over 160 years ago...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections