Spen Valley by-election, 1919

The Spen Valley by-election of 1919 was held on 20 December 1919. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Coalition Liberal MP, Thomas Palmer Whittaker. It was won by the Labour candidate Tom Myers, who had contested the constituency at the 1918 general election

The poll came at the same time as a serious split in the Liberal Party over continuing support for the coalition government: Colonel B C Fairfax was nominated as the Coalition Liberal candidate while Sir John Simon stood as an Independent Liberal. The poll was held on 20 December 1919, although the votes were not counted until 3 January of the following year. The result was seen as sensational, with The Times describing it as a "political event of great significance" with voters deserting the government candidate in "a humiliation which cannot be explained away".

In the view of Maurice Cowling, Simon's defeat by Labour marked the point at which Labour began to be seen as a serious threat by the older parties.

File:Portrait of John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon.jpg

Sir John Simon

Spen Valley by-election, 1919

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Myers	11,962	39.4	–5.0
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Sir John Allsebrook Simon	10,244	33.8	21.8
	Coalition Liberal	Bryan Charles Fairfax	8,134	26.8	n/a
Majority			1,718	5.6	26.8
Turnout				76.5	+27.1
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+13.4