1934 Lowestoft by-election

UK parliamentary by-election October 2014 October 2014 April 2013 1934 Lowestoft by-election presidential United Kingdom Lowestoft parliamentary seat no 1931 United Kingdom general election 1931 1945 United Kingdom general election 1945 15 February 1934 Pierse Loftus Conservative Party (UK) 15,912 47.9% Reginald Sorensen Labour Party (UK) 13,992 42.1% William Smith Liberal Party (UK) 3,304 10.0% MP Subsequent MP Gervais Rentoul Conservative Party (UK) Pierse Creagh Loftus Conservative Party (UK) The 1934 Lowestoft by-election was an election held for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom's constituency of Lowestoft, it was the first ever by election in the constituency. It was held on Thursday 15 February 1934, polling stations opened between the hours of 8 am and 10 pm. Vacancy The Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) Sir Gervais Rentoul resigned upon appointment as a Metropolitan Police Court Magistrate.Page 1152 Issue 34025, 20 February 1934 London ... https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34025/page/1152 https://web.archive.org/web/20250605001949/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34025/page/1152 5 June 2025 2026-03-06 The Gazette en-GB live Last result 1931 United Kingdom general election Electorate 47,737 Conservative Party (UK) Gervais Rentoul 22,886 67.8 +28.0 Labour Party (UK) Edward Neep 10,894 32.2 +3.3 11,992 35.6 +27.1 33,780 Conservative Party (UK) Candidates The candidates selected for the by election, were as follows Pierse Loftus who stood on behalf of the Conservative Party, Reginald Sorensen was selected on behalf of the Labour Party. William Smith a local Alderman and Justice of the Peace, stood for the Liberal Party. Some records describe Smith as an 'Independent Liberal', a term that was often used at this time to describe the official Liberal Party that was led by Sir Herbert Samuel, who opposed the National Government. However, there should be no doubt that Smith was an official Liberal candidate and was claimed as such in The Liberal Party Yearbook at the time.The Liberal Party Yearbook 1935 Campaign June 2025 In the weeks and months leading up to the election several meetings took place. The Labour Party's meetings focussed on the town's fishing industry. An advert appeared in the Lowestoft Journal of 1934 stating that a meeting would take place at the towns hippodrome on Sunday 4 February 1934 at 7.30 pm. Guest speakers included the Rt Hon. Ted Kennedy, Noel Palmer and the Labour Party candidate himself. The Conservative Party also decided to focus their campaign on the local fishing industry and Loftus conducted many meetings, in the run up to the election, this included one with the Southwold's women unionists. Loftus also conducted a constituency meeting on the Claremont Pier pavilion, where he was joined by speakers Geoff Shakespeare, a Liberal National MP for Norwich. The constituency meeting was described in a local paper as "full and lively". Whereas William Smith the Liberal decided to concentrate his campaign on unemployment, this included unemployment at a national and a local level. Result The Conservative Party held the seat with a far narrower majority. Lowestoft by-election, 1934 Conservative Party (UK) Pierse Loftus 15,912 47.9 -19.9 Labour Party (UK) Reginald Sorensen 13,992 42.1 +9.8 Liberal Party (UK) William Smith 3,304 10.0 New 1,920 5.8 -29.8 33,208 67.9 Conservative Party (UK) -14.9 The Liberal vote was substantially down from its 1929 level.June 2025 William Smith forfeited his deposit under Section 27 of the Representation of the People Act 1918.June 2025 See also Gervais Rentoul References Category:1934 elections in the United Kingdom Lowestoft Category:1934 in England Category:Lowestoft Category:February 1934 in the United Kingdom