1929 Preston by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 June 2025 The 1929 Preston by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in England for the UK House of Commons constituency of Preston on 31 July 1929. The seat had become vacant when the Liberal Member of Parliament William Jowitt had resigned his seat after changing his party allegiance. Standing as a Liberal, Jowitt had won one of Preston's two seats at the general election in May 1929, having previously been Liberal MP for The Hartlepools from 1922 to 1924. After his return to the Commons in 1929, he was offered the post of Attorney General for England and Wales in the new Labour Government. He accepted the post, but resigned from Parliament and stood for re-election to allow voters to decide whether to accept his change of party. Jowitt held the seat with an increased majority. The Liberals did not put forward a candidate, being demoralised following Jowitt's defection, and also lacking funds to fight an election. They did not become a force at parliamentary level in Preston again.Conversation between Peter Hulse and Albert Ingham (the Liberal agent in Preston in 1929) at the Liberal Assembly in Harrogate in the 1980s Preston by-election, 1929 Labour Party (UK) William Jowitt 35,608 54.6 +25.1 Conservative Party (UK) Alfred Howitt 29,168 44.8 -0.7 Independent Labour S. M. Holden 410 0.6 -1.0 6,440 9.8 +2.0 65,186 79.6 +1.4 Labour Party (UK) See also Preston (UK Parliament constituency) Preston 1903 Preston by-election 1915 Preston by-election 1936 Preston by-election 1940 Preston by-election 1946 Preston by-election 2000 Preston by-election 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 March 2012 Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Lancashire constituencies Category:1929 elections in the United Kingdom Category:1929 in England Category:1920s in Lancashire Category:Elections in Preston, Lancashire