1944 Bury St Edmunds by-election
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Constituency of Bury St Edmunds | ||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 50.8% | |||||||||||||||
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The 1944 Bury St Edmunds by-election was a parliamentary
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting
Election history
Bury St Edmunds had been won by the Conservatives at every election since the seat was created in 1885 and was a safe seat. So safe was it that Heilgers was returned unopposed in 1931 and 1935.
Candidates
The local Conservatives selected 39-year-old
The Bury St Edmunds Liberals had selected H.C. Drayton as prospective parliamentary candidate for the next general election.[3] At the outbreak of war, the Conservative, Liberal and Labour parties had agreed an electoral truce which meant that when a by-election occurred, the party that was defending the seat would not be opposed by an official candidate from the other two parties. When the Labour and Liberal parties joined the Coalition government, it was agreed that any by-election candidate defending a government seat would receive a letter of endorsement jointly signed by all the party leaders. This was enough to deter Bury St Edmunds Liberals from submitting their candidate.
However, the 62-year-old leading Liberal activist
Campaign
Polling day was set for 29 February 1944. When nominations closed, it was to reveal a two horse race, between the Conservative Keatinge and the Independent Liberal Ashby.
Keatinge received a joint letter of endorsement from all the leaders of the parties in the coalition, including Liberal Leader,
Unlike the Independent Liberal candidates at 1943 Chippenham by-election and 1943 Darwen by-election, Ashby attracted plenty of outside help, firstly from large numbers of Liberals who were growing tired of the electoral truce. Secondly, she was able to enlist the support of Richard Acland and his successful Common Wealth Party by-election circus. Furthermore, she benefited from organised support in Bury St Edmunds that went by the name of the United Progressive Front. This group included Liberal, Labour and Communist activists, harking back to the pre-war days of the Popular Front.[7]
The contest gained national attention, and became seen as a test of the credibility of the government.[1]
Result
The Conservative Keatinge hung onto the seat;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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Conservative | Edgar Keatinge | 11,705 | 56.2 | N/A | |
Independent Liberal | Margery Corbett Ashby | 9,121 | 43.8 | New | |
Majority | 2,584 | 12.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 20,828 | 50.8 | N/A | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Aftermath
Neither Keatinge nor Ashby stood at the 1945 general election. The result at the following General Election saw the anti-Tory vote increase to the point that they would have gained the seat had the vote not been split between three candidates;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 15,013 | 48.7 | -7.5 | |
Labour | Cecily Alicia McCall | 9,195 | 29.8 | New | |
Liberal | H.C. Drayton | 5,863 | 19.0 | New | |
Common Wealth | E. C. Gordon England | 750 | 2.4 | New | |
Majority | 5,818 | 18.9 | -6.5 | ||
Turnout | 30,821 | 67.8 | +17.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing |
See also
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election records
References
- ^ a b c d Cosgrave, Patrick (13 August 1998). "Obituary: Sir Edgar Keatinge". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ a b "Conservative Candidate At Bury St. Edmunds". The Times. 28 January 1944. p. 8.
- ^ a b Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 25 Feb 1944
- ISBN 1-86064-502-X
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b c F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
- ^ By-Elections in British Politics by Cook and Ramsden