1919 Spen Valley by-election

UK Parliamentary by-election August 2019 August 2019 1919 Spen Valley by-election United Kingdom by-election Popular Spen Valley (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s 1918 1919 12 20 yes Spen Valley (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1920s 1922 39,667 76.5% File:Tom Myers (politician) (3x4).jpg Tom Myers Labour Party (UK) 11,962 39.4% 5.0% File:John Simon, 1916 (cropped).jpg John Simon Liberal Party (UK) 10,244 33.8% New File:Bryan Charles Fairfax (cropped).jpeg Bryan Fairfax Coalition Liberal Coalition 8,134 26.8% 28.8% MP Thomas Whittaker Coalition Liberal Subsequent MP Tom Myers Labour Party (UK) The 1919 Spen Valley by-election was held on 20 December 1919. The by-election was held after the death of the incumbent Coalition Liberal MP, Thomas Whittaker. It was won by the Labour candidate, Tom Myers,http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Scommons4.htm SPEN VALLEY (YORKSHIRE) 25 May 2021 usurped 10 August 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090810231512/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Scommons4.htm who had contested the constituency at the 1918 general election. The 1918 contest had been a straight fight between Whittaker and Myers, and had seen the former emerge victorious with a majority of 2,156 votes (11.2% of votes cast).Craig F. W. S. F. W. S. Craig British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 1969 Political Reference Publications Glasgow 0-900178-01-9 528 Candidates Tom Myers, a member of Dewsbury Borough Council was the Labour candidate, as he had at the general election. Colonel Bryan Fairfax was nominated as the Coalition Liberal candidate, and former Home Secretary Sir John Simon stood as an "Independent" Liberal.Spen Valley's Verdict. A Blow To The Coalition, Labour Member Returned, Sir J. Simon's Big Poll. 5 January 1920 The Times 13 Campaign The poll came at the same time as a serious split in the Liberal Party over continuing support for the coalition government. Result The poll was held on 20 December 1919, but the votes were not counted until 3 January 1920. The result was seen as sensational,Previewing the 1 July 2021 by-elections (Parliamentary Special) https://web.archive.org/web/20210701071304/https://www.britainelects.com/2021/07/01/previewing-the-1-july-2021-by-elections-parliamentary-special/ 1 July 2021 Britainelects with The Times describing it as a "political event of great significance", with voters deserting the government candidate in "a humiliation which cannot be explained away".The Parting of the Ways. Mr Lloyd-George's Two Courses. 5 January 1920 The Times 13 1919 Spen Valley by-election Labour Party (UK) Tom Myers 11,962 39.4 –5.0 Liberal Party (UK) John Simon 10,244 33.8 N/A Coalition Liberal Bryan Fairfax 8,134 26.8 –28.8 1,718 5.6 N/A 30,340 76.5 +26.3 39,667 Labour Party (UK) Coalition Liberal +13.4 Aftermath At the 1922 general election, Simon contested the seat as the sole Liberal candidate, although the Conservatives now fielded a candidate. However Simon emerged victorious with a majority of 787 votes over Myers. Myers would fight the seat again in 1923 and 1924, but Simon increased his majority on both occasions, most significantly to over 4,000 votes in 1924 when no Conservative opposed him. In the 1930s Simon broke from the Liberal Party, eventually forming his own Liberal National Party which worked in close alliance with the Conservatives. He would hold the Spen Valley seat until his elevation to the peerage in 1940, prompting the 1940 Spen Valley by-election. In the view of Maurice Cowling, Simon's defeat at the by election marked the point at which Labour began to be seen as a serious threat by the older parties. References Spen Valley by-election Category:Elections in Kirklees Category:Elections in Calderdale Spen Valley by-election Spen Valley by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in West Yorkshire constituencies Category:1910s in Yorkshire