1927 Westbury by-election

The Westbury by-election, 1927 was a by-election held on 16 June 1927 for the British House of Commons constituency of Westbury.

Vacancy

The Unionist MP, Walter William Shaw died on 10 May 1927 at the age of 58. He had been MP here since the last General election, when he gained the seat from the Liberal;

General election 1924 Electorate 30,784 [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter William Shaw 11,559 44.2 +4.8
Liberal Charles Darbishire 9,848 37.7 -5.5
Labour George Ward 4,731 18.1 +0.7
Majority 1,711 6.5 N/A
Turnout 26,138 84.9 +1.4
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing

History

In the 13 elections since the constituency was created in 1885, the Unionists had won only three times to the Liberals ten times. The Labour Party first contested the seat in 1918 and then at every election since. In every one of the four elections since 1918, the winner was elected with a minority of the vote, with Labour finishing third every time. So the constituency could be described as a Unionist/Liberal marginal.

Candidates

The Unionists chose Maj. Eric Long to defend the seat. He was the 35-year-old son of former Unionist leader Walter Long. The previous Liberal MP, Charles Darbishire who was the Liberal candidate last time, had died in 1925. The local Liberals had not got around to selecting a replacement until the by-election occurred. They settled on 34-year-old Harcourt Johnstone, a former Liberal MP for Willesden East who had been defeated at the last General Election. Johnstone was related to former Liberal leader William Harcourt. Johnstone first tried to re-enter parliament at the 1925 Eastbourne by-election but finished second in this safe Unionist seat. The Labour candidate was George Ward, who had contested the seat at the previous three elections, never polling more than a fifth of the vote. He was a local Justice of the Peace and worked as a railway signalman.

Result
Westbury by-election, 1927 Electorate 31,321 [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Richard Long 10,623 40.1 -4.1
Liberal Harcourt Johnstone 10,474 39.5 +1.8
Labour George Ward 5,396 20.4 +2.3
Majority 149 0.6 -5.9
Turnout 26,493 84.6 -0.3
Unionist hold Swing

Aftermath

All three candidates again faced each other at the following General Election, with a similar result;

General election 1929 Electorate 38,119 [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Richard Long 12,907 38.8 -1.3
Liberal Harcourt Johnstone 12,840 38.7 -0.8
Labour George Ward 7,458 22.5 +2.1
Majority 67 0.1 -0.5
Turnout 33,205 87.1 +2.5
Unionist hold Swing

Johnstone was eventually to return to the house in 1931 as Liberal MP for South Shields.

References
  1. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  2. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  3. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
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