Battersea North by-election, 1946
Encyclopedia
The Battersea North by-election, 1946 was a parliamentary by-election
held on 25 July 1946 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Battersea North
in the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea
.
The seat had become vacant on the resignation from the House of Common
of the constituency's Labour
Member of Parliament
(MP), Francis Douglas
, who had been appointed as Governor of Malta and ennobled as Baron Douglas of Barloch. He had held the seat since a by-election in 1940
.
, a 39-year-old economist who had been a financial journalist, a Fellow of All Souls and then (from 1941) a civil servant.
The Conservative Party
candidate was B.A. Shattock, while the Liberal Party
did not field a candidate.
The third candidate was 38-year-old Hugo Dewar of the Independent Labour Party
(ILP). Dewar was a Trotskyist 38-year-old tutor in adult education. He had joined the ILP in 1928, and co-founded the Marxist League. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain
in 1931, but was expelled the following year. He was one of the founders in 1932 of the Communist League
, Britain's first Trotskyist group, and had remained active in 'Left Opposition' groups until he was drafted into the army in 1943.
, Jay held the seat for Labour with 69% of votes, a small reduction from the 74% won by his predecessor in 1945. Shattock's 29.6% share was a small increase on the 26.1% Conservative vote the previous year, while Dewar won only 240 votes (1.5%) of the total, and lost his deposit.
, and held several other government offices before his retirement from the House of Commons in 1983. He was made a life peer
in 1987.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 25 July 1946 for the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Battersea North
Battersea North (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 1960s:-Elections in the 1950s:-Elections in the 1940s:Francis Douglas was appointed Governor of Malta, leading to a by-election....
in the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea
Metropolitan Borough of Battersea
Battersea was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in the County of London, England. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its area combined with parts of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth to form the London Borough of Wandsworth...
.
The seat had become vacant on the resignation from the House of Common
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
of the constituency's Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP), Francis Douglas
Francis Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Barloch
Francis Campbell Ross Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Barloch KCMG , was a British journalist, solicitor and Labour Party politician....
, who had been appointed as Governor of Malta and ennobled as Baron Douglas of Barloch. He had held the seat since a by-election in 1940
Battersea North by-election, 1940
The Battersea North by-election, 1940 was a parliamentary by-election held on 17 April 1940 for the British House of Commons constituency of Battersea North in the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea....
.
Candidates
The Labour Party selected as its candidate Douglas JayDouglas Jay, Baron Jay
Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay, Baron Jay, PC was a British Labour Party politician.Educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, Jay became a Fellow of All Souls between 1930 and 1937...
, a 39-year-old economist who had been a financial journalist, a Fellow of All Souls and then (from 1941) a civil servant.
The Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate was B.A. Shattock, while the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
did not field a candidate.
The third candidate was 38-year-old Hugo Dewar of the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
(ILP). Dewar was a Trotskyist 38-year-old tutor in adult education. He had joined the ILP in 1928, and co-founded the Marxist League. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
in 1931, but was expelled the following year. He was one of the founders in 1932 of the Communist League
Communist League (UK, 1932)
The Communist League was the first Trotskyist group in Britain. It was formed in 1932 by former members of the Communist Party of Great Britain from Balham and Tooting in South London, including Harry Wicks. They had been expelled after forming a loose grouping inside the CPGB, known as the...
, Britain's first Trotskyist group, and had remained active in 'Left Opposition' groups until he was drafted into the army in 1943.
Results
On a turnout reduced to 55% from the 71% at the 1945 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, Jay held the seat for Labour with 69% of votes, a small reduction from the 74% won by his predecessor in 1945. Shattock's 29.6% share was a small increase on the 26.1% Conservative vote the previous year, while Dewar won only 240 votes (1.5%) of the total, and lost his deposit.
Aftermath
Jay joined the government the following year as Economic Secretary to the TreasuryEconomic Secretary to the Treasury
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is the fifth most senior ministerial post in the UK Treasury, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster-General and the Financial Secretary...
, and held several other government offices before his retirement from the House of Commons in 1983. He was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in 1987.
Votes
See also
- Battersea North constituencyBattersea North (UK Parliament constituency)-Elections in the 1960s:-Elections in the 1950s:-Elections in the 1940s:Francis Douglas was appointed Governor of Malta, leading to a by-election....
- Battersea North by-election, 1940Battersea North by-election, 1940The Battersea North by-election, 1940 was a parliamentary by-election held on 17 April 1940 for the British House of Commons constituency of Battersea North in the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea....
- BatterseaBatterseaBattersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election recordsUnited Kingdom by-election recordsUK by-election records is an annotated list of notable records from UK Parliamentary by-elections. A by-election occurs when a Member of Parliament resigns, dies, or is disqualified or expelled, and an election is held to fill the vacant seat...