Whitechapel and St George's by-election, 1930
Encyclopedia
The Whitechapel and St George's by-election, 1930 was a parliamentary by-election
held on 3 December 1930 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Whitechapel and St George's in the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney
.
Member of Parliament
(MP), Harry Gosling
, had died on 24 October 1930. He had been MP for the seat since a 1923 by-election.
, who was contesting his first parliamentary election. He was 53.
He faced a Liberal
opponent Barnett Janner, who was 38 and had been Liberal candidate for Cardiff Central
at the 1929 election
, where he had finished third.
The Conservative Party
candidate was Loel Guinness
. He was 24 years old and had contested this seat for the Conservatives in the 1929 general election.
The Communist
candidate was Harry Pollitt, the Party's General Secretary. He had stood against the Prime Minister
, Ramsay MacDonald
, at Seaham
in the 1929 general election.
, regaining it at the 1935 election
and serving as MP until his death, which precipitated another by-election in 1942
.
Janner took the seat for the Liberals at the 1931 election. After losing in 1935, he would go on to be elected Labour MP for Leicester West
at the 1945 election
.
Guinness was elected MP for Bath
in the following year.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 3 December 1930 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 Whitechapel and St George's in the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney
Metropolitan Borough of Stepney
The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.-Boundaries:...
.
Previous MP
The seat had become vacant on when the constituency's LabourLabour 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), Harry Gosling
Harry Gosling
Harry Gosling CH was a British Labour Party politician and trade union leader.-Early life:Gosling was born in 1861 at 57 York Street, Lambeth, London, on the southern bank of the River Thames. He was the second son of William Gosling, master lighterman, and his wife Sarah Louisa née Rowe, a...
, had died on 24 October 1930. He had been MP for the seat since a 1923 by-election.
Candidates
The Labour candidate was James Henry HallJames Henry Hall
James Henry Hall , known as J. H. Hall, was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament for the Whitechapel and St Georges division of Stepney from 1930 to 1931 and from 1935 to 1942.- Career :Hall became interested in trade unionism in his youth,...
, who was contesting his first parliamentary election. He was 53.
He faced a 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...
opponent Barnett Janner, who was 38 and had been Liberal candidate for 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....
at the 1929 election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, where he had finished third.
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...
candidate was Loel Guinness
Loel Guinness
Group Captain Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness OBE was a British Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for Bath , business magnate and philanthropist...
. He was 24 years old and had contested this seat for the Conservatives in the 1929 general election.
The Communist
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
candidate was Harry Pollitt, the Party's General Secretary. He had stood against 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....
, at 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...
in the 1929 general election.
Votes
Hall held the seat on a much reduced majority. He would hold the seat until losing it at the 1931 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...
, regaining it at the 1935 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...
and serving as MP until his death, which precipitated another by-election in 1942
Whitechapel and St George's by-election, 1942
The Whitechapel and St. George's by-election, 1942 was a by-election held on 8 August 1942 for the British House of Commons constituency of Whitechapel and St...
.
Janner took the seat for the Liberals at the 1931 election. After losing in 1935, he would go on to be elected Labour MP for 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 :...
at the 1945 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...
.
Guinness was elected MP for Bath
Bath (UK Parliament constituency)
Bath is a constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, previously of the House of Commons of England. It is an ancient constituency which has been constantly represented in Parliament since boroughs were first summoned to send members in the 13th century...
in the following year.
See also
- Whitechapel and St George's constituency
- Whitechapel and St George's by-election, 1923
- Whitechapel and St George's by-election, 1942Whitechapel and St George's by-election, 1942The Whitechapel and St. George's by-election, 1942 was a by-election held on 8 August 1942 for the British House of Commons constituency of Whitechapel and St...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election recordsUnited Kingdom by-election recordsUK by-election records is an annotated list of notable records from UK Parliamentary by-elections. A by-election occurs when a Member of Parliament resigns, dies, or is disqualified or expelled, and an election is held to fill the vacant seat...