1920 Woodbridge by-election

The Woodbridge by-election of 1920 was held on 28 July 1920. The by-election was held due to the resignation of the incumbent Coalition Unionist MP, Robert Francis Peel. It was won by the Coalition Unionist candidate Sir Arthur Churchman.

1920 Woodbridge by-election
28 July 1920
 
Candidate Churchman Harben
Party Unionist Labour
Popular vote 9,898 8,707
Percentage 53.2 46.8
MP before election

Peel
Unionist

 Subsequent MP

Churchman
Unionist

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the sitting Unionist MP, Robert Francis Peel resigning his seat to become Governor and Commander-in-Chief of St Helena. He had been MP here since re-gaining the seat from the Liberals in January 1910.

Electoral history

The constituency was a Unionist/Liberal marginal. Since the seat's creation in 1885, it had been won by a Unionist candidate six times and by a Liberal three times. The Coalition Government 'Coupon' at the last General Election in 1918 was awarded to the sitting Unionist rather than the Liberal challenger. Despite this, the Liberal vote held up very well;

Robert Peel
General election 1918: Woodbridge[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Robert Francis Peel 8,654 55.8 +3.2
Liberal William Rowley Elliston 6,842 44.2 -3.2
Majority 1,812 11.6 +6.4
Turnout 15,496 51.0
Unionist hold Swing +3.2
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Candidates
  • The Unionists selected 53-year-old tobacco manufacturer Sir Arthur Churchman as their candidate to defend the seat.
  • The Liberal candidate from the last election, Rowley Elliston did not stand this time, despite his good showing in 1918. In fact, no Liberal candidate came forward.
  • The Labour Party, who had not contested the seat before, selected 46-year-old H.D. Harben, a former Liberal candidate, as their candidate to challenge for the seat. He had contested the 1906 general election at Worcester coming second. He then contested the dual member seat of Portsmouth at the December 1910 general election, coming fourth.

Campaign

Polling Day was set for 28 July 1920. Nominations closed to confirm that the election would be a two-way contest. Churchman received the official endorsement of the Coalition Government.

Result
Woodbridge by-election, 1920[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Arthur Churchman 9,898 53.2 -2.6
Labour Henry Devenish Harben 8,707 46.8 New
Majority 1,191 6.4 -5.2
Turnout 18,605 61.4 +10.4
Unionist hold Swing
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Aftermath

The result at the following General Election in 1922 was;

General election 1922: Woodbridge[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Arthur Churchman 12,396 56.7 +3.5
Labour Edward Neep 9,476 43.3 -3.5
Majority 2,920 13.4 +6.8
Turnout 21,872 69.1 +7.7
Unionist hold Swing +3.4

See also
  • List of United Kingdom by-elections

References
  1. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  2. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  3. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
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