1925 Eastbourne by-election

The Eastbourne by-election, 1925 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Eastbourne, Sussex on 17 June 1925.

Vacancy
Sir George Lloyd

The by-election was caused by the resignation on 25 May[1] of the town's Unionist Party Member of Parliament (MP) Rt Hon. Sir George Lloyd, who was elevated to the peerage as Baron Lloyd and appointed as British High Commissioner in Egypt and the Sudan. He had held the seat since the 1924 general election,[2] having previously been MP for West Staffordshire from 1910 to 1918.[3]

Election History

The constituency was created in 1885 and had been won by a Unionist candidate at every election apart from 1906, the year of the Liberal landslide when it was won by a Liberal candidate. The result at the last General Election was

1924 general election: Eastbourne Electorate 33,318[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist George Lloyd 17,533 67.9
Liberal J J Davies 4,168 16.1
Labour D J Davis 4,138 16.0
Majority 13,365 51.8
Turnout 25,839 77.6
Unionist hold Swing

Candidates
Sir Reginald Hall
  • On the 24 May, the Eastbourne Unionist Association chose 55-year-old Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald 'Blinker' Hall as their candidate to defend the seat. He had been the Director of Naval Intelligence (DNI) from 1914 to 1919 and the MP for Liverpool West Derby from 1919 to 1923 when he was defeated by the Liberal candidate.[5] He did not contest the 1924 general election.
  • On 29 May, the Eastbourne Liberal Association adopted 30-year-old Harcourt 'Crinks' Johnstone as their candidate to challenge for the seat.[6] He had been MP for Willesden East from 1923 to 1924. He first stood for parliament at Willesden East for the Liberals at the general election of 1922. However the sitting Tory MP, resigned in 1923 causing the 1923 Willesden East by-election. Johnstone was again chosen to contest the seat for the Liberals and won by a majority of 5,176 votes over the Unionist. Johnstone held the seat in the 1923 general election, only to lose it to the Unionist at the 1924 general election.[7]
  • The Eastbourne Constituency Labour Party selected 48-year-old Lt-Col. Beauchamp Williams as their candidate to challenge for the seat. He had been MP for Kennington from 1923 to 1924.[8] He was defeated at the next general, election in October 1924 by the Unionist candidate.[9]

All three candidates were former MPs seeking a new seat.

Campaign

Polling Day was set for 17 June 1925. From the outset, the Unionists were expected to hold the seat. The main interest would focus on the battle for second place.

On the eve of poll, Johnstone received a telegram of support from leading Liberal David Lloyd George.[10] Lloyd George had visited the constituency earlier in the campaign to speak for Johnstone.

At the end of the campaign, the Unionist team were predicting a majority of 6,000[11]

Result

Hall managed to hold onto the seat for the Unionists but with a much reduced majority. The Liberals comfortably beat Labour to finish in second place.

Eastbourne by-election, 1925 Electorate 33,318[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Reginald Hall 12,741 58.4 -9.5
Liberal Harcourt Johnstone 5,386 24.7 +8.6
Labour Thomas Williams 3,696 16.9 +0.9
Majority 7,355 33.7 -18.1
Turnout 21,823 60.7 -14.9
Unionist hold Swing -9.0

After a very disappointing 1924 general election, this was the first sign of a Liberal Party revival in the polls.

Aftermath

Hall was replaced as Unionist candidate for the next General Election which the Unionists retained with a new candidate. In fact all the candidates fighting Eastbourne for the first time. The result at the following General Election;

1929 general election: Eastbourne Electorate 48,951[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Edward Marjoribanks 18,157 49.9
Labour R S Chatfield 8,204 22.5
Liberal Clive Stuart Saxon Burt 7,812 21.4
Independent Unionist P E Hurst 2,277 6.2
Majority 9,953 27.4
Turnout 36,450 74.5
Unionist hold Swing

Johnstone sought entrance to parliament next at the 1927 Westbury by-election again finishing second. Williams did not stand for parliament again.

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References
  1. Department of Information Services (9 June 2009). "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
  3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 4)
  4. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
  5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 2)
  6. Western Daily Press, 30 May 1925
  7. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p277
  8. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 1)
  9. Craig, page 34
  10. Derby Daily Telegraph, 16 June 1925
  11. Aberdeen Journal, 18 June 1925
  12. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
  13. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949

See also
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