1942 Maldon by-election

1942 UK parliamentary by-election September 2024 1942 Maldon by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Constituency of Maldon no 1935 United Kingdom general election 1935 1945 United Kingdom general election 1945 25 June 1942 Tom Driberg x160px Independent Labour 12,219 61.3% black N/A R. J. Hunt x160px Conservative Party (UK) 6,226 31.3% 22.1% Richard Borlase Matthews x160px National Independent and Agricultural 1,476 7.4% black N/A MP Edward Ruggles-Brise Conservative Party (UK) Tom Driberg Independent Labour 44.4% ( 29.4%) ddddddDecember 2020 September 2015 The 1942 Maldon by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 25 June 1942 for the British House of Commons constituency of Maldon in Essex. It was one a series of by-elections in World War II won by radical independent candidates. Previous MP The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), Sir Edward Ruggles-Brise, had died on 12 May, aged 59. He had been Maldon's MP since the 1922 general election, with a brief interruption from 1923 to 1924. Candidates During World War II, unopposed by-elections were common, since the major parties had agreed not to contest by-elections when vacancies arose in seats held by the other parties; contests occurred only when independent candidates or minor parties chose to stand. The Conservative candidate in Maldon, R. J. Hunt, thus faced neither a Labour Party nor a Liberal candidate. However, the left-wing journalist Tom Driberg stood as an "Independent Labour" candidate. Driberg was well known as the Daily Express columnist "William Hickey" and had a home in Bradwell-on-Sea – the only candidate who lived in the constituency. He was a member of the "1941 Committee", a group of progressive intellectuals who met under the chairmanship of J. B. Priestley at the home of Edward G. Hulton, the owner of the Picture Post newspaper. At the start of May, the committee had published a "Nine-Point Plan" calling for works councils and the publication of "post-war plans for the provision of full and free education, employment and a civilized standard of living for everyone."Schoolnet: Tom Hopkinson The plan formed the basis of Driberg's campaign. The third contestant was 64-year-oldWho's Who in Engineering, 1921 Borlase Matthews, standing as a National Independent and Agricultural candidate. He was Liberal candidate at Henley in the 1931 general election, in the 1932 Henley by-election, at Ashford for the 1935 general election,The Times House of Commons, 1935 and at the 1937 Tonbridge by-election. He was an engineer but left engineering to take up farming. He was a Member of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society. He was a Member of the Electricity Commissioners Rural Electrification Conference. He was Chairman of the Rural Reconstruction Association. He was also an author of several books and papers on farming.The Times House of Commons, 1931 Matthews supported Churchill's Coalition government but felt that it was too dominated by the Conservatives and wanted it to be more progressive in nature.Tom Driberg: his life and indiscretions, Francis Wheen Result On a much-reduced turnout, the result was a massive victory for Driberg, who won 61.3% of the votes. Ruggles-Brise had held the seat at the 1935 general election with 53.4% of the votes, a majority of 24.5%; but Hunt won only 31.3%. Driberg sat as an Independent Labour MP until January 1945, when he took the Labour Whip in the House of Commons. As a Labour Party candidate, he held the seat comfortably at the 1945 general election, and remained Maldon's MP until he stepped down at the 1955 election. The rejection of the government candidate was widely linked to the Axis capture of Tobruk only a few days beforehand, the latest in a string of British defeats, although Driberg denied that this had been a major factor.Cook Chris Ramsden John 1997 By-Elections in British Politics https://books.google.com/books?id=JX_7AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA138 London Routledge 138 978-1-85728-535-2 Previous election General election, 1935: Maldon Conservative Party (UK) Edward Ruggles-Brise 17,072 53.4 −17.4 Labour Party (UK) W. F. Toynbee 9,264 28.9 −0.3 Liberal Party (UK) Hilda Buckmaster 5,680 17.7 New 7,808 24.5 −16.1 32,016 73.8 −0.9 Conservative Party (UK) Result of by-election Maldon by-election, 25 June 1942 Independent Labour Tom Driberg 12,219 61.3 New Conservative Party (UK) R. J. Hunt 6,226 31.3 −22.1 National Independent and Agricultural Richard Borlase Matthews 1,476 7.4 New 5,993 30.0 N/A 19,921 44.4 −29.4 Independent Labour Conservative Party (UK) Aftermath General election, 1945: Maldon Labour Party (UK) Tom Driberg 22,480 60.4 −0.9 Conservative Party (UK) Melford Stevenson 14,753 39.6 +6.3 7,727 20.8 −9.2 37,233 74.5 +30.1 Labour Party (UK) Independent Labour See also Maldon constituency Maldon Lists of United Kingdom by-elections United Kingdom by-election records References Craig F. W. S. F. W. S. Craig British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 1969 3rd 1983 Parliamentary Research Services Chichester 0-900178-06-X March 2012 Maldon by-election Maldon by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Essex constituencies Category:Politics of Maldon District Maldon by-election, 1942 Maldon by-election