1944 West Derbyshire by-election

UK Parliamentary by-election June 2025 February 2020 August 2019 1944 West Derbyshire by-election parliamentary United Kingdom 1938 West Derbyshire by-election 1938 1945 United Kingdom general election 1945 17 February 1944 Charles Frederick White IL Independent Labour 16,336 57.7% Marquess of Hartington x160px Conservative Party (UK) 11,775 41.5% MP Subsequent MP Henry Hunloke Conservative Party (UK) Charles Frederick White Independent Labour Constituency of West Derbyshire 65.4% (14.0%) 25.2% 7.1% The 1944 West Derbyshire by-election was held on 17 February 1944. The by-election was held due to the resignation of the incumbent Conservative MP, Henry Hunloke. Hunloke was the brother-in-law of Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire, who had held the seat from 1923 until 1938, when he succeeded to his title and was replaced by Hunloke. The seat had been held previously by Hunloke's father-in-law (1891-1908, before becoming the 9th Duke), and by the 9th Duke's brother-in-law, the future 6th Marquess of Lansdowne (1908-1918). This control by the Cavendish family had been interrupted in 1918-1923 by Charles Frederick White, who was elected as a Liberal. White died in 1923. His son, also Charles Frederick White, had stood for the seat in the 1938 by-election as a Labour candidate, but lost to Hunloke by 5,500 votes. The resignation of Hunloke was due to the imminent collapse of his marriage (he was divorced from his Cavendish wife the next year and remarried immediately). The Conservative Party then selected the Marquess of Hartington, the 10th Duke's eldest son and heir, as their candidate. The major parties had formed a national unity government during World War II and agreed that no by-elections would be contested during the war. In contravention of this agreement, Charles Frederick White stood in the by-election as an Independent Labour candidate.Paul Addison in Chris Cook & John Ramsden (eds.), By-elections in British Politics; UCL Press, 1997 pp. 142–144 In an acrimonious campaign, White pressed for social change, securing the support of local Labour activists.The Derbyshire Labour Movement: 1939-1945, accessed 14 May 2016https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=J78tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=opgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3661,6987087 The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search news.google.com 23 April 2018https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2Q8vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DNwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3092,3006480 Ottawa Citizen - Google News Archive Search news.google.com 23 April 2018 White won, defeating Cavendish by over 4,000 votes, a swing of 9,000 from 1938.http://www.leighrayment.com/commons.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20080607022521/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons.htm 7 June 2008 House of Commons www.leighrayment.com dead 23 April 2018 Once in Parliament, White took the official Labour whip. West Derbyshire by-election, 1944 Independent Labour Charles Frederick White 16,336 57.7 N/A Conservative Party (UK) Marquess of Hartington 11,775 41.5 N/A Agriculturalist Robert Goodall 233 0.8 New 4,561 16.2 N/A 28,344 65.4 N/A Independent Labour Conservative Party (UK) References West Derbyshire by-election West Derbyshire by-election Category:1940s in Derbyshire West Derbyshire by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Derbyshire constituencies