1928 Halifax by-election

The Halifax by-election, 1928 was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 July 1928 for the British House of Commons constituency of Halifax in West Yorkshire.[1]

John Henry Whitley
Harry Barnes

The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Member of Parliament (MP), John Henry Whitley, the Speaker of the House of Commons since 1921, had resigned his seat[2] due to ill-health. He had been elected as a Liberal Party MP at the 1900 general election,[2] and as speaker had been returned unopposed at the general elections in 1922, 1923 and 1924.[3] The last time that there had been a contested election for the seat was at the 1918 general election, when Whitley had been opposed only by a Socialist Labour Party candidate.

The result of the three-way contest was a victory for the Labour candidate, Arthur Longbottom, who won with a majority of 4,951 over the Liberal Harry Barnes,[1] who had previously been MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East.[4] Longbottom had previously been a councillor in Halifax and served as its mayor in 1923.[5]

Result
Halifax by-election, 1928[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Arthur Longbottom 17,536 42.8 New
Liberal Harry Barnes 12,585 30.8 N/A
Unionist Francis Savile Crossley 10,804 26.4 New
Majority 4,951 12.0 N/A
Turnout 40,925 78.7 N/A
Labour gain from Speaker Swing N/A

Aftermath

At the following year's general election Longbottom held the seat with an increased majority of 7,063 votes. That contest also saw a new Conservative candidate, Gilbert Gledhill overtake the Liberals and move into second place.[5] In 1931, Gledhill took the seat for the Conservatives, defeating Longbottom by over 20,000 votes.[6]

See also

References
  1. "News of the Week". The Spectator (5221). London. 20 July 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  2. "Mr Speaker, a son of Halifax". Halifax Courier. Johnston Publishing. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  3. "Foreign News: Longbottom's Seat". Time. New York. 23 July 1928. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  4. Debrett's House of Commons. London: Forgotten Books. 2013 [1921]. p. 137. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  5. The Times House of Commons 1929. London: The Times Office. 1929. p. 42.
  6. The Times House of Commons 1931. London: The Times Office. 1931. p. 40.
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