1921 Westminster Abbey by-election

none April 2022 June 2025 1921 Westminster Abbey by-election presidential United Kingdom Westminster Abbey (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s 1918 Westminster Abbey (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1920s 1922 25 August 1921 Nicholson 65px Unionist Party (UK) 6,204 43.6% Applin 65px Anti-Waste League 4,970 34.9% Lupton 65px Liberal Party (UK) 3,053 21.5% File:WestminsterAbbey1918.png 250px MP Subsequent MP Burdett-Coutts Unionist Party (UK) Nicholson Unionist Party (UK) The 1921 Westminster Abbey by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 25 August 1921 for the British House of Commons constituency of Westminster Abbey in London. The seat had become vacant when the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) William Burdett-Coutts had died on 28 July 1921. Burdett-Coutts had held the seat since it had been created for the 1918 general election, when he had been returned unopposed. General election, 14 December 1918 Unionist Party (UK) William Burdett-Coutts Unionist Party (UK) Candidates The Unionist candidate was John Nicholson. The Liberal candidate Arnold Lupton, aged nearly 75, had previously been a member of the House of Commons from 1906 to January 1910. Campaign At the time the Anti-Waste League was active, and all three candidates claimed to be anti-waste. The League was formed to advance the political ambitions of the newspaper owner Lord Rothermere. He is known in particular, with his brother Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, for the development of the British newspapers Daily Mail and Daily Mirror - he was a pioneer of popular journalism. The objects of the League were to insist upon measures being taken to restore the country to solvency, urge a wholesale reduction of expenditure, fight the battle of local rates and oppose sham Anti-Waste candidates. There was a growing element both inside and outside the Conservative element of the Coalition Government, that opposed the post-war reconstruction methods adopted by Lloyd George and other leading Liberals in the coalition, notably Christopher Addison, who as Housing Minister had introduced a series of measures to enable local councils to build Council houses. These measures were funded by higher taxation and in accordance with Lloyd George's aim to build a "Land Fit for Heroes". Result The Unionist candidate won the election, but the Anti-Waste League candidate Reginald Applin polled respectably. Westminster Abbey By-Election, 1921 Unionist Party (UK) John Nicholson 6,204 43.6 N/A Anti-Waste League Reginald Applin 4,970 34.9 New Liberal Party (UK) Arnold Lupton 3,053 21.5 New 1,234 8.7 N/A 15,131 38.5 N/A Unionist Party (UK) N/A Aftermath Nicholson remained the constituency's MP until his death in 1924, when a further by-election was held. Applin became the Conservative MP for Enfield in 1924 General election, 15 November 1922: Westminster Abbey Unionist Party (UK) John Nicholson 13,620 75.6 +32.0 Labour Party (UK) Joseph Butler 2,454 13.6 New Independent (politician) Sidney Robert Drury-Lowe 1,950 10.8 New 11,166 62.0 +53.3 18,024 49.0 +10.5 Unionist Party (UK) References February 2012 British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1979) Minor Parties at British Parliamentary Elections 1885-1974, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1975) External links Newsreel footage of the three candidates handing in their nomination papers, British Pathé Category:1921 elections in the United Kingdom Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London constituencies Category:Elections in the City of Westminster Category:1921 in London Category:1920s in the City of Westminster Category:August 1921 in the United Kingdom