Whitechapel and St George's by-election, 1923

Whitechapel and St George's in the County of London, showing boundaries used in 1923

The Whitechapel and St Georges by-election, 1923 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Whitechapel and St Georges on 8 February 1923.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting Labour MP, Charles James Mathew on 8 January 1923. Mathew died, aged 50, after an operation, 7 weeks after his election, becoming one of the shortest-serving MPs in history.

Election history

The constituency was created for the 1918 General Election. The area had been a Liberal stronghold and despite the Conservative candidate being endorsed by the Coalition Government, the Liberals won a four cornered contest. At the following General election, Labour narrowly gained the seat, the result was;

1922 General Election Electorate^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles James Mathew	6,267	40.2
	Liberal	James Daniel Kiley	5,839	37.4
	Conservative	A. Instone	3,502	22.4
Majority			428	2.8
Turnout			24,333	64.1
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.3

Candidates

The local Labour Party selected 61-year-old Harry Gosling to defend the seat. Gosling first stood for election to parliament as a Liberal Party candidate at the December 1910 general election but failed to win a seat at Lambeth North. At the next General Election in 1918 he stood as a Labour Party candidate at Uxbridge but was again defeated. The following General Election in 1922 he was again defeated as a Labour candidate at Kennington.^[1] He was also a member of London County Council since 1898, representing St George's-in-the-East until 1919 and Kennington thereafter. In 1920 Labour formally became a separate party within the council, and Gosling became the first leader of the Labour group.
The local Liberal Party re-selected 57-year-old James Daniel Kiley to regain the seat. Kiley had sat as Liberal MP for Whitechapel from 1916 to 1918 and then for Whitechapel and St Georges from 1918 until his defeat in 1922. In 1910, he was elected to Stepney Borough Council, becoming an alderman in 1913 and serving as the borough's mayor in 1915.^[2]^[3] He was also a member of the Metropolitan Water Board from 1914 to 1922.
On 15 January 1923 at a meeting of the National Prohibition Party in London, they decided to intervene in the by-election, fielding S. M. Holden, of Huncoat, Lancashire.^[4] The party platform centred on the support for the banning of alcohol. Holden had contested Accrington at the 1906 General Election coming third.^[5]
On the 22 January the local Conservative Association met and decided not to contest the by-election.^[6]

Campaign

Polling Day was set for 8 February 1923, exactly one month after the death of Mathew. Nominations closed on the 31 January 1923 to reveal a three cornered contest between Labour's Gosling, the Liberal Kiley and the Prohibitionist Holden.

Leading Liberal, Sir John Simon who had gained a seat from Labour at the 1922 General Election, came to speak in support of Kiley.

Holden's campaign received the active support of Edwin Scrymgeour who had been elected to parliament for Dundee at the 1922 General Election on behalf of the Scottish Prohibition Party.

British Pathe film of Holden opening his campaign;

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/englands-first-prohibitionist-m-p/query/CAMPAIGNING+BY

Result

The Labour Party held the seat.

Harry Gosling

Whitechapel and St George's by-election, 1923 Electorate^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry Gosling	8,398	57.0	+16.8
	Liberal	James Daniel Kiley	6,198	42.1	+4.7
	National Prohibition Party	S. M. Holden	130	0.9	n/a
Majority			2,200	14.9
Turnout			24,333	60.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.1

Aftermath

Gosling and Kiley went head-to-head again at the General election later in the year with the same outcome;

1923 General Election Electorate^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry Gosling	7,812	54.0
	Liberal	James Daniel Kiley	6,656	46.0	+3.9
Majority			1,156	8.0
Turnout			24,800	58.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.5

The National Prohibition Party did not contet another parliamentary seat. Holden did not stand for parliament again until 1929 when he contested Preston as an Independent candidate.

References

1 2 3 4 F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
↑ "Obituary: Mr. Harry Gosling, M.P. From Waterman To Labour Minister". The Times. 25 October 1930. p. 17.
↑ Hesilridge, Arthur G. M. (1922). Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1922. London: Dean & Son.
↑ Aberdeen Journal, 16 Jan 1923
↑ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918
↑ Western Morning News, 23 Jan 1923