The 1928 Halifax by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 July 1928 for the British House of Commons constituency of Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
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 due to ill-health. He had been elected as a Liberal Party MP at the 1900 general election, and as speaker had been returned unopposed at the general elections in 1922, 1923 and 1924. 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, who had previously been MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East. Longbottom had previously been a councillor in Halifax and served as its mayor in 1923.
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Arthur Longbottom | 17,536 | 42.8 | New | |
| Liberal | Harry Barnes | 12,585 | 30.8 | N/A | |
| Unionist | Francis Savile Crossley | 10,804 | 26.4 | New | |
| Majority | 4,951 | 12.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 40,925 | 78.7 | N/A | ||
| Labour gain from Speaker | Swing | N/A | |||
Aftermath
At the following year's general election Longbottom held the seat with an increased majority of 7,063 votes. That contest also saw a new Conservative candidate, Gilbert Gledhill overtake the Liberals and move into second place. In 1931, Gledhill took the seat for the Conservatives, defeating Longbottom by over 20,000 votes.
See also
References
- ^ "News of the Week". The Spectator. No. 5221. London. 20 July 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ^ "Mr Speaker, a son of Halifax". Halifax Courier. Johnston Publishing. 28 June 2009. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- "Foreign News: Longbottom's Seat". Time. New York. 23 July 1928. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- Debrett's House of Commons. London: Forgotten Books. 2013 . p. 137. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ^ The Times House of Commons 1929. London: The Times Office. 1929. p. 42.
- The Times House of Commons 1931. London: The Times Office. 1931. p. 40.
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