1931 Islington East by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2020 October 2014 1931 Islington East by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Constituency of Islington East no 1929 United Kingdom general election 1929 1931 United Kingdom general election Oct. 1931 19 February 1931 Leah Manning x160px Labour Party (UK) 10,591 34.7% 3.3% Alfred Critchley x160px Empire Free Trade Crusade 8,314 27.2% black New Thelma Cazalet x160px Conservative Party (UK) 7,182 23.5% 10.6% Horace Crawfurd Lib Liberal Party (UK) 4,450 14.6% 13.3% IslingtonEast1918.png A map of parliamentary constituencies within the County of London at the time of the by-election, with Islington East highlighted in #ff0000 red. MP Ethel Bentham Labour Party (UK) Leah Manning Labour Party (UK) The 1931 Islington East by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 19 February 1931 for the UK House of Commons constituency of Islington East in Islington, North London. The seat had become vacant when the Labour Member of Parliament, Dr Ethel Bentham, died on 19 January 1931, aged 70. She had held the seat since the 1929 general election. Candidates Labour selected as its candidate the 45-year-old Leah Manning, President of the National Union of Teachers. The Conservative Party candidate was Thelma Cazalet, a 31-year-old feminist and member of the London County Council. The Liberal candidate was Horace Crawfurd, who had been the MP for Walthamstow West from 1924 until his defeat at the 1929 general election. The fourth candidate, Air Commodore Alfred Critchley, was referred to by Thelma Cazalet as "the Beaverbrook candidate". He stood for the Empire Free Trade Crusade and the United Empire Party, which both sought to make the British Empire a free trade bloc. The Empire Crusade had won the Paddington South by-election in October 1930, and hoped to repeat its success. Critchley had been the Conservative candidate in Manchester Gorton in 1929. Result On a reduced turnout, Manning held the seat for Labour with a majority of 2,277 votes. Critchley came second with 27.2% of the votes, a setback for the Empire Crusade. Islington East by-election, 19th February 1931Craig F. W. S. F. W. S. Craig British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 1969 3rd 1983 Parliamentary Research Services Chichester 0-900178-06-X https://books.google.com/books?id=MMCuCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA254 27 Labour Party (UK) Leah Manning 10,591 34.7 −3.3 Empire Crusade Alfred Critchley 8,314 27.2 New Conservative Party (UK) Thelma Cazalet 7,182 23.5 −10.6 Liberal Party (UK) Horace Crawfurd 4,450 14.6 −13.3 2,277 7.5 +3.6 30,537 50.0 −16.4 Labour Party (UK) Aftermath The Empire Crusade also failed to win the Westminster St George's by-election in March. At the 1931 general election, Cazalet won the seat by a large majority, serving as Islington East's MP until her defeat by Labour's Eric Fletcher at the 1945 general election. After her defeat in 1931, Manning did not return to Parliament until her victory in Epping in 1945. Critchley rejoined the Conservative Party, and won the Twickenham by-election in 1934. See also Islington East (UK Parliament constituency) Islington List of United Kingdom by-elections 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 Cazalet-Keir Thelma Thelma Cazalet-Keir From the Wings:An Autobiography 1967 1st 1967 The Bodley Head London Islington East by-election Islington East,1931 Islington East by-election Islington East,1931 Islington East by-election