1919 Kingston upon Hull Central by-election
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The 1919 Kingston upon Hull Central by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Kingston upon Hull Central on 29 March 1919. The by-election was the fifth to be held during the 1918-1922 parliament.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the
Electoral history
The result at the last general election in 1918 was;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist
|
Mark Sykes | 13,805 | 80.1 | +28.6 |
Liberal | Roderick Kedward | 3,434 | 19.9 | -28.6 | |
Majority | 10,371 | 60.2 | +57.2 | ||
Turnout | 17,239 | 54.9 | -31.2 | ||
Unionist hold
|
Swing | ||||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Candidates
- The Unionists selected 32-year-old Lord Eustace Percy as their candidate to defend the seat. He was the seventh son of Henry Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland, and Lady Edith, daughter of George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. Percy had served in the Diplomatic Service since 1911. He had not seen war service. He was standing for parliament for the first time.
- The Liberals selected 33-year-old Admiralty war staff in London. Kenworthy first tried to enter Parliament at the 1918 general election fighting Rotherhamas a Liberal but came third.
Campaign
Polling Day was set for 29 March 1919, 41 days after the death of the former MP. Nominations closed to confirm that the election would be a two-way contest.
Percy immediately received the official endorsement of the Coalition Government.
As with the
Result
According to reports in The Times newspaper, the by-election proved largely uneventful and the parties were expecting a small poll.[3]
In the event there was a turnout of 51% which although on the lower end of the spectrum for by-elections of the day, was not the lowest experienced during the 1918–1922 Parliament.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Joseph Kenworthy | 8,616 | 52.8 | +32.9 | |
C | Unionist
|
Eustace Percy | 7,699 | 47.2 | -32.9 |
Majority | 917 | 5.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 16,315 | 51.9 | -3.0 | ||
Unionist
|
Swing | +32.9 | |||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
British Pathe has newsreel footage of Joseph Kenworthy taken after his election victory. http://www.britishpathe.com/video/commander-kenworthy/query/election
Aftermath
Kenworthy went on to hold the seat for the Liberals at the subsequent general election. The result at the following general election in 1922 was;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Joseph Kenworthy | 15,374 | 55.5 | +2.7 | |
Unionist
|
Herbert William Looker
|
12,347 | 44.5 | -2.7 | |
Majority | 3,027 | 11.0 | +5.4 | ||
Turnout | 27,721 | 79.1 | +27.2 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | +2.7 |
Percy was to find electoral success elsewhere and go on to sit in the Conservative Cabinet of Stanley Baldwin. The proposal for retaining Conscription during peacetime was quickly dropped.
See also
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election records
- 1926 Kingston-upon-Hull Central by-election
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1918–1931)
References
- ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ^ Trial By Ballot by Ivor RM Davies, p30
- ^ The Times, 29 March 1919
- ^ Chris Cook and John Ramsden, By-elections in British Politics; UCL Press, 1997 pp271-272
- ^ The Times, 12 April 1919
- ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig