- South Norfolk by-election, 1920
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The South Norfolk by-election, 1920 was a by-election held on 27 July 1920 for the British House of Commons constituency of South Norfolk.
The by-election was triggered by the succession to the peerage of the serving Coalition Liberal Member of Parliament (MP), William Cozens-Hardy.
South Norfolk had been a safe Liberal seat since Arthur Soames's victory in the 1898 by-election, but the Liberal vote was now divided. The Coalition Liberal candidate was J H Batty, who received the support of the Coalition leaders, David Lloyd George and Andrew Bonar Law. C. H. Roberts ran as an Independent Liberal. They were joined by a strong Labour Party candidate, George Edwards, a former agricultural labourer who had founded the National Union of Land Workers, and who had polled around a third of the vote as the only other candidate in the 1918 general election.
The result was a clear win for Edwards, who picked up around 2000 votes on a very similar turnout to the general election, and exploited the split in the Liberal vote, with Batty recommending those of his supporters who could not bring themselves to vote for the Coalition to support Edwards instead.[1] Edwards was defeated in the next election, but held the seat again between 1923 and 1924.
Votes
South Norfolk by-election, 1920 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Labour George Edwards 8,594 45.7 +10.0 Coalition Liberal J. H. Batty 6,476 34.5 −29.8 Liberal C. H. Roberts 3,718 19.8 N/A Majority 2,118 11.2 −17.4 Turnout 18,788 58.5% Labour gain from Coalition Liberal Swing References
- ^ The Times, 26 July 1920
- The Times, 10 August 1920
See also
- South Norfolk by-election, 1898
- South Norfolk by-election, 1955
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1918–1931)
- South Norfolk constituency
« 30th Parliament « By-elections to the 31st Parliament of the United Kingdom » 32nd Parliament » 1919 February: Liverpool West Derby • March: Leyton West • North Londonderry • Oxford University • Hull Central • April: Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central • May: East Antrim • July: Swansea East • Bothwell • Dublin University • August: Widnes • September: Pontefract • October: Manchester Rusholme • November: Chester-le-Street • Croydon South • Isle of Thanet • Plymouth Sutton • December: St Albans • Bromley • Spen Valley1920 January: Ashton-under-Lyne • February: The Wrekin • Paisley • Horncastle • March: Argyll • Dartford • Stockport • Basingstoke • Camberwell North West • April: Northampton • Edinburgh North • Edinburgh South • Sunderland • June: Louth • Nelson and Colne • July: Ebbw Vale • South Norfolk • Woodbridge • September: Ilford • November: Hemel Hempstead • The Wrekin • Middleton and Prestwich • December: Abertillery • Rhondda West1921 January: Hereford • Dover • February: Cardiganshire • March: Woolwich East • Dudley • Birmingham Moseley • Kirkcaldy Burghs • Penistone • Birmingham West • April: Taunton • Bristol West • Glasgow Pollok • East Dorset • Bewdley • Eddisbury • Bedford • Chichester • May: Hastings • Penrith and Cockermouth • Abingdon • Orkney and Shetland • June: Belfast Duncairn • Mid Armagh • North Down • West Down • July: Mid Down • Westminster St George's • Heywood and Radcliffe • Hertford • August: Caerphilly • Westminster Abbey • South Londonderry • September: Lewisham West • Louth • October: Westhoughton • November: Hornsey • December: Southwark South East1922 January: Ludlow • Tamworth • South Londonderry • February: West Down • Manchester Clayton • Camberwell North • North Down • Bodmin • March: Wolverhampton West • Liverpool Exchange • Cambridge • Inverness • Chertsey • Leicester East • May: Wandsworth • City of London • June: North Londonderry • Newbury • Moray and Nairn • Banbury • Nottingham East • July: Gower • North Down • Pontypridd • August: Hackney South • October: NewportCategories:- By-elections to the United Kingdom Parliament in East of England constituencies
- Elections in Norfolk
- 1920 in England
- 1920 elections in the United Kingdom
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