Darlington by-election, 1926
Encyclopedia
The Darlington by-election, 1926 was a by-election
held on 17 February 1926 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Darlington
in County Durham
.
Member of Parliament
(MP), William Pease
had died on 23 January 1926, aged 60. He had held the seat since a by-election in 1923
.
candidate was 51-year-old John Dickie
, who had been the MP for Gateshead
from 1923
until his defeat at the 1924 general election
.
The Labour Party
candidate was 42-year-old Arthur Shepherd
, and E. H. Pease stood for the Conservatives
. Pease had not previously contested a parliamentary election, but Shepherd had contested Darlington in 1924, losing by over 2000 votes to William Pease.
, but was defeated in 1931
.
Pease did not stand for Parliament again, but Dickie was elected in 1931 as National Liberal
MP for Consett
.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 17 February 1926 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 Darlington
Darlington (UK Parliament constituency)
Darlington 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....
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...
.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the sitting 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...
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), William Pease
William Edwin Pease
William Edwin Pease was an English businessman and Conservative Party politician from County Durham. Pease was educated at Clifton College and Trinity College, Cambridge....
had died on 23 January 1926, aged 60. He had held the seat since a by-election in 1923
Darlington by-election, 1923
The Darlington by-election, 1923 was a by-election held on 28 February 1923 for the British House of Commons constituency of Darlington in County Durham.- Vacancy :...
.
Candidates
The Liberal PartyLiberal 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...
candidate was 51-year-old John Dickie
John Purcell Dickie
John Purcell Dickie was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom.At the 1922 general election, he contested the Gateshead constituency, coming third. However, in 1923 he won the seat, but was Member of Parliament for Gateshead for less than a year, losing the seat at the general election...
, who had been the MP for Gateshead
Gateshead (UK Parliament constituency)
Gateshead 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. A previous Gateshead constituency existed from 1832 to 1950....
from 1923
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
until his defeat at the 1924 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
.
The Labour Party
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...
candidate was 42-year-old Arthur Shepherd
Arthur Lewis Shepherd
Arthur Lewis Shepherd was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected at the as Member of Parliament for Darlington at a by-election in 1926, having usuccessfully contested the seat at the 1924 general election...
, and E. H. Pease stood for the Conservatives
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...
. Pease had not previously contested a parliamentary election, but Shepherd had contested Darlington in 1924, losing by over 2000 votes to William Pease.
Result
On a slightly increased turnout, the result was a narrow victory for Shepherd. His share of the vote was lower than in 1924, when there had been no Liberal candidate, but the presence of a Liberal in the by-election impacted more heavily on the Conservatives than on Labour.Aftermath
Shepherd held the seat at the 1929 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, but was defeated in 1931
United 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...
.
Pease did not stand for Parliament again, but Dickie was elected in 1931 as National Liberal
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)
The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...
MP for Consett
Consett (UK Parliament constituency)
Consett was a county constituency, centred on the town of Consett 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 voting system....
.
Votes
See also
- Darlington constituencyDarlington (UK Parliament constituency)Darlington 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....
- DarlingtonDarlingtonDarlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
- Darlington by-election, 1923Darlington by-election, 1923The Darlington by-election, 1923 was a by-election held on 28 February 1923 for the British House of Commons constituency of Darlington in County Durham.- Vacancy :...
- Darlington by-election, 1983Darlington by-election, 1983The Darlington by-election, 1983 was a parliamentary by-election held on 24 March 1983 for the British House of Commons constituency of Darlington in County Durham....
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1918–1931)