1923 Whitechapel and St George's by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 1923 Whitechapel and St George's by-election presidential United Kingdom Whitechapel and St George's (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1920s 1922 Whitechapel and St George's (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1920s 1923 8 February 1923 Gosling 65px Labour Party (UK) 8,398 57.0% Kiley Liberal Party (UK) 6,198 42.1% Holden 65px Prohibition 130 0.9% File:WhitechapelStGeorges1918.png 250px MP Subsequent MP Mathew Labour Party (UK) Gosling Labour Party (UK) The 1923 Whitechapel and St George's by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Whitechapel and St Georges on 8 February 1923. Vacancy The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting Labour MP, Charles James Mathew on 8 January 1923. Mathew died, aged 50, after an operation, seven weeks after his election, becoming one of the shortest-serving MPs in history. Election history The constituency was created for the 1918 general election. The area had been a Liberal stronghold and despite the Conservative candidate being endorsed by the Coalition government, the Liberals won a four-cornered contest. At the following general election, Labour narrowly gained the seat. The result was; 1922 general election: Whitechapel and St George'sF W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949 Labour Party (UK) Charles James Mathew 6,267 40.2 +11.0 Liberal Party (UK) James Kiley 5,839 37.4 +2.5 Conservative Party (UK) A. Instone 3,502 22.4 -6.4 428 2.8 N/A 15,608 64.1 +27.1 Labour Party (UK) Liberal Party (UK) +4.3 Candidates The local Labour Party selected 61-year-old Harry Gosling to defend the seat. Gosling first stood for election to Parliament as a Liberal Party candidate at the December 1910 general election but failed to win a seat at Lambeth North. He stood as a Labour Party candidate in Uxbridge at the next general election in 1918, but was again defeated. At the following general election in 1922, he was again defeated as a Labour candidate at Kennington. He was also a member of the London County Council since 1898, representing St George's-in-the-East until 1919 and Kennington thereafter. In 1920 Labour formally became a separate party within the council, and Gosling became the first leader of the Labour group. The local Liberal Party re-selected 57-year-old James Kiley to regain the seat. Kiley had sat as Liberal MP for Whitechapel from 1916 to 1918 and then for Whitechapel and St Georges from 1918 until his defeat in 1922. In 1910, he was elected to Stepney Borough Council, becoming an alderman in 1913 and serving as the borough's mayor in 1915.Obituary: Mr. Harry Gosling, M.P. From Waterman To Labour Minister The Times 25 October 1930 17Hesilridge Arthur G. M. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1922 https://archive.org/stream/debrettshouseo1922londuoft 1922 Dean & Son London He was also a member of the Metropolitan Water Board from 1914 to 1922. At a meeting of the National Prohibition Party in London on 15 January 1923, attendees decided to intervene in the by-election, fielding S. M. Holden, of Huncoat, Lancashire.Aberdeen Journal, 16 Jan 1923 The party platform centred on the support for the banning of alcohol. Holden had contested Accrington at the 1906 general election, coming third.F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918 On 22 January, the local Conservative Association met and decided not to contest the by-election.Western Morning News, 23 Jan 1923 Campaign Polling day was set for 8 February 1923, exactly one month after the death of Mathew. Nominations closed on 31 January 1923; it transpired that there would be a three-cornered contest between Labour's Gosling, the Liberal Kiley and the Prohibitionist Holden. Leading Liberal Sir John Simon, who had gained a seat from Labour at the 1922 general election, came to speak in support of Kiley. Holden's campaign received the active support of Edwin Scrymgeour, who had been elected to parliament for Dundee at the 1922 general election on behalf of the Scottish Prohibition Party. British Pathe film of Holden opening his campaign; http://www.britishpathe.com/video/englands-first-prohibitionist-m-p/query/CAMPAIGNING+BY Result The Labour Party held the seat. thumb|120px|Harry Gosling Whitechapel and St George's by-election, 1923 Labour Party (UK) Harry Gosling 8,398 57.0 +16.8 Liberal Party (UK) James Kiley 6,198 42.1 +4.7 National Prohibition Party S. M. Holden 130 0.9 New 2,200 14.9 +12.1 14,726 60.5 -3.6 Labour Party (UK) +6.1 Aftermath Gosling and Kiley went head-to-head again at the General election later in the year with the same outcome; 1923 general election: Whitechapel and St George's Labour Party (UK) Harry Gosling 7,812 54.0 -3.0 Liberal Party (UK) James Kiley 6,656 46.0 +3.9 1,156 8.0 -6.9 14,468 58.3 -2.2 Labour Party (UK) -3.5 The National Prohibition Party did not contest another parliamentary seat. Holden did not stand for parliament again until 1929 when he contested Preston as an Independent candidate. References See also List of United Kingdom by-elections United Kingdom by-election records Whitechapel and St George's by-election Whitechapel and St George's by-election Whitechapel and St George's,1923 Whitechapel and St George's by-election Whitechapel and St George's by-election Whitechapel and St George's,1923