Gateshead by-election, 1931
Encyclopedia
The Gateshead by-election, 1931 was a parliamentary by-election
held on 8 June 1931 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Gateshead
.
Member of Parliament
(MP), Sir James Melville, had died on 1 May, aged 46. He been Gateshead's MP since the 1929 general election
, and had been Solicitor-General
from 1929 to 1930.
candidate was Cuthbert Headlam
, who had been MP for Barnard Castle
from 1924
until his defeat in 1929
. Labour selected Herbert Evans
, who had stood unsuccessfully at the 1929 election in the Maldon constituency
in Essex
.
In 1929, there had been both a Liberal
and an independent candidate in Gateshead, but the by-election was a two-way contest between Labour and Conservative.
However, Evans did not live to defend the seat; he died on 7 October 1931, the day on which Parliament
was dissolved for the 1931 general election
. The Gateshead seat was then won by the National Liberal Party
candidate, Thomas Magnay
, and Headlam was re-elected in Barnard Castle.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 8 June 1931 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 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....
.
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), Sir James Melville, had died on 1 May, aged 46. He been Gateshead's MP since the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, and had been Solicitor-General
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
from 1929 to 1930.
Candidates
The Conservative PartyConservative 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 Cuthbert Headlam
Cuthbert Headlam
Sir Cuthbert Morley Headlam, 1st Baronet, DSO, OBE, TD, DL was a British Conservative politician.Born in Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire, Headlam was educated at King's School, Canterbury and at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was a Clerk in the House of Lords 1897-1924 and became a barrister, Inner...
, who had been MP for Barnard Castle
Barnard Castle (UK Parliament constituency)
Barnard Castle was a county constituency centred on the town of Barnard Castle in County Durham, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
from 1924
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
until his defeat in 1929
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
. Labour selected Herbert Evans
Herbert Evans (politician)
Herbert Evans was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.He contested the 1929 general election in the Conservative safe seat of Maldon in Essex, where the Conservative vote fell but the gains were made by the Liberal candidate.He was elected as Member of Parliament for Gateshead at a...
, who had stood unsuccessfully at the 1929 election in the Maldon constituency
Maldon (UK Parliament constituency)
Maldon is a county 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 Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
In 1929, there had been both 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...
and an independent candidate in Gateshead, but the by-election was a two-way contest between Labour and Conservative.
Results
The result was a narrow victory for Evans. His 51.6% share of the votes was only a small fall from his predecessor's result in 1929, but Headlam picked up the votes which had previously gone to Liberal and independent candidates, and cut the Labour majority from a safe 31.1% to a precarious 3.2%.However, Evans did not live to defend the seat; he died on 7 October 1931, the day on which Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
was dissolved for the 1931 general election
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...
. The Gateshead seat was then won by the National Liberal Party
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...
candidate, Thomas Magnay
Thomas Magnay
Thomas Magnay was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom, who joined the breakaway Liberal National faction and served as a Member of Parliament from 1931 to 1945....
, and Headlam was re-elected in Barnard Castle.
Votes
See also
- Gateshead constituencyGateshead (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....
- GatesheadGatesheadGateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
- 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...