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,[1] 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.[2] The poll was held on 20 December 1919, although the votes were not counted until 3 January of the following year.[2] 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".[3]
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.
| 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 | |||
References
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