Bodmin by-election, 1922
Encyclopedia
The Bodmin by-election, 1922 was a parliamentary by-election
for the British House of Commons
constituency of Bodmin
held on 24 February 1922.
MP
, Sir Charles Augustin Hanson
on 17 January 1922. Hanson had been MP for Bodmin since himself winning the seat in a by-election on 15 August 1916.
to replace Sir Charles Hanson who had indicated he was standing down at the next election. Poole was Hanson’s son-in-law. Poole has usually been described as a Coalition Conservative but The Times
newspaper did refer to him as a Coalition Liberal in its report on the by-election polling day. The Liberals
adopted solicitor Isaac Foot
who had fought Bodmin twice before.
in a letter to General Poole asked for the support of the electors for the giving of peace to Ireland and the restoration of that economic and financial stability necessary for good trade and prosperity. For the Independent Liberals, Foot attacked the government’s record in waste and inefficiency. He said that the electorate had recognised the 1918 general election
as a fraud and resented having been tricked by ‘delusive promises’ and ‘crooked politics’.
. Foot had no Labour opponent in Bodmin but Labour had not contested the seat at the 1918 general election
either. The Executive Committee of the Labour Party in Bodmin did however issue a strong attack on the government’s record, especially what it described as ‘its wanton waste of the country’s resources’ and it recommended that Labour supporters should vote for Foot. By-elections were taking place at Manchester Clayton
, Camberwell North
and Wolverhampton West
in this period as well as at Bodmin. In the other three seats the Independent Liberals did not stand candidates, allowing Labour to take on the Coalition in straight fights with the result that Manchester and Wolverhampton were Labour gains. The Coalition leadership regarded this as evidence that understandings, formal or unofficial, were being entered into by the opposition parties in anticipation of a similar but formal arrangement for the next general election but this was denied by Labour and Liberal spokesmen. The Times newspaper tended to accept these denials, given the difficulty of imposing national arrangements on independently minded local Liberal and Labour constituency organisations, but clearly it was in the interests of the opposition parties at this time to avoid fighting each other as far as possible and wherever this happened it made it easier to turn out the government candidate. One more likely reason that not as many Liberal candidates were coming forward at by-elections at this time was the decline in Liberal organisation in many constituencies and a general lack of morale amongst party workers both engendered by the split in the party between Coalition and Asquithian wings.
Methodism
now had a charismatic spokesman at Westminster.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
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 Bodmin
Bodmin (UK Parliament constituency)
Bodmin was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall from 1295 until 1983. Initially, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England and later the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1868 general...
held on 24 February 1922.
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting Coalition ConservativeConservative 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...
MP
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,...
, Sir Charles Augustin Hanson
Sir Charles Hanson, 1st Baronet
Sir Charles Augustin Hanson , 1st Baronet of Fowey was an alderman of the City of London. He was made Sheriff in 1911-12 and Lord Mayor of London in 1917-18. He was also a Coalition Conservative Member of Parliament for Bodmin in Cornwall from 1916 to 1922...
on 17 January 1922. Hanson had been MP for Bodmin since himself winning the seat in a by-election on 15 August 1916.
Candidates
The Unionists had already selected Major-General Sir Frederick Poole as the Coalition candidateCoalition 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...
to replace Sir Charles Hanson who had indicated he was standing down at the next election. Poole was Hanson’s son-in-law. Poole has usually been described as a Coalition Conservative but The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper did refer to him as a Coalition Liberal in its report on the by-election polling day. The Liberals
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...
adopted solicitor Isaac Foot
Isaac Foot
-Early life:Isaac Foot was born in Plymouth, the son of a carpenter and undertaker, and educated at Plymouth Public School and the Hoe Grammar School, which he left at the age of 14. He then worked at the Admiralty in London, but returned to Plymouth to train as a solicitor...
who had fought Bodmin twice before.
Issues
The Coalition was fighting on its record of having won the war and negotiated the peace and was relying on appeals to the electorate of being allowed to get on with the task of steering the country through the difficult domestic and international waters currently flowing around the British ship of state. Sir Austen ChamberlainAusten Chamberlain
Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain, KG was a British statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and half-brother of Neville Chamberlain.- Early life and career :...
in a letter to General Poole asked for the support of the electors for the giving of peace to Ireland and the restoration of that economic and financial stability necessary for good trade and prosperity. For the Independent Liberals, Foot attacked the government’s record in waste and inefficiency. He said that the electorate had recognised 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...
as a fraud and resented having been tricked by ‘delusive promises’ and ‘crooked politics’.
Lib-Lab Pact?
One question which was raised during the round of by-elections being fought at this time, as the date of the next general election neared, was whether there was a some kind of electoral arrangement between the Independent, Asquithian Liberals and the Labour PartyLabour 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...
. Foot had no Labour opponent in Bodmin but Labour had not contested the seat 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...
either. The Executive Committee of the Labour Party in Bodmin did however issue a strong attack on the government’s record, especially what it described as ‘its wanton waste of the country’s resources’ and it recommended that Labour supporters should vote for Foot. By-elections were taking place at Manchester Clayton
Manchester Clayton (UK Parliament constituency)
Manchester Clayton was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester. 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....
, Camberwell North
Camberwell North (UK Parliament constituency)
Camberwell North was a borough constituency located in the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell, in South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
and Wolverhampton West
Wolverhampton West by-election, 1922
The Wolverhampton West by-election, 1922 was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Wolverhampton West in Wolverhampton on 7 March 1922...
in this period as well as at Bodmin. In the other three seats the Independent Liberals did not stand candidates, allowing Labour to take on the Coalition in straight fights with the result that Manchester and Wolverhampton were Labour gains. The Coalition leadership regarded this as evidence that understandings, formal or unofficial, were being entered into by the opposition parties in anticipation of a similar but formal arrangement for the next general election but this was denied by Labour and Liberal spokesmen. The Times newspaper tended to accept these denials, given the difficulty of imposing national arrangements on independently minded local Liberal and Labour constituency organisations, but clearly it was in the interests of the opposition parties at this time to avoid fighting each other as far as possible and wherever this happened it made it easier to turn out the government candidate. One more likely reason that not as many Liberal candidates were coming forward at by-elections at this time was the decline in Liberal organisation in many constituencies and a general lack of morale amongst party workers both engendered by the split in the party between Coalition and Asquithian wings.
The result
The result was a gain for the Liberal Party from the Coalition with Foot gaining 56% of the poll and a majority of 3,141 over Poole. The size of the Liberal victory has been described by one historian as a ‘landslide’. The result was said to have turned the tide for the Liberals in the region restoring the party as the true heir of the old Radical tradition and that as a result CornishCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
now had a charismatic spokesman at Westminster.
The votes
See also
- 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...