1928 Halifax by-election

The Halifax by-election, 1928 was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 July 1928 for the British House of Commons constituency of Halifax in West Yorkshire.[1]

John Henry Whitley

Harry Barnes

The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Member of Parliament (MP), John Henry Whitley, the Speaker of the House of Commons since 1921, had resigned his seat[2] due to ill-health. He had been elected as a Liberal Party MP at the 1900 general election,[2] and as speaker had been returned unopposed at the general elections in 1922, 1923 and 1924.[3] The last time that there had been a contested election for the seat was at the 1918 general election, when Whitley had been opposed only by a Socialist Labour Party candidate.

The result of the three-way contest was a victory for the Labour candidate, Arthur Longbottom, who won with a majority of 4,951 over the Liberal Harry Barnes,[1] who had previously been MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East.[4]

Result

Halifax by-election, 1928[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Arthur Longbottom	17,536	42.8	n/a
	Liberal	Harry Barnes	12,585	30.8	n/a
	Unionist	Francis Savile Crossley	10,804	26.4	n/a
Majority			4,951	12.0	n/a
Turnout			40,925	78.7	n/a
	Labour gain from Speaker		Swing	n/a

See also

• Halifax, West Yorkshire
• List of United Kingdom by-elections (1918–1931)

References

1. "News of the Week". The Spectator (5221). London. 20 July 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
2. "Mr Speaker, a son of Halifax". Halifax Courier. Johnston Publishing. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
3. "Foreign News: Longbottom's Seat". Time. New York. 23 July 1928. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
4. Debrett's House of Commons. London: Forgotten Books. 2013 [1921]. p. 137. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.