1921 Caerphilly by-election

1921 Caerphilly by-election
← 1918 24 August 1921 1922 →
 
Candidate Jones Edmunds Stewart
Party Labour Liberal Communist
Popular vote 13,699 8,958 2,592
Percentage 54.2 35.5 10.3
MP before election

Onions
Labour

Subsequent MP

Jones
Labour

The 1921 Caerphilly by-election was held on 24 August 1921. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Labour MP, Alfred Onions. It was held for Labour by Morgan Jones.[1]

Candidates and campaign

Morgan Jones clinched the Labour nomination despite not being the preferred candidate of the South Wales Miners' Federation. He was the first conscientious objector to be elected to Parliament after World War I.[2]

The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) stood Bob Stewart, a member of its executive committee. The party had been founded in 1920, and this was its first Parliamentary election. It sent almost all its leading figures to campaign in the election.[3]

Result

Jones won an easy victory, with Edmunds in second, and the CPGB a distant third.[3]

1921 Caerphilly by-election[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Morgan Jones 13,699 54.2 −0.6
Liberal William Rees Edmunds 8,958 35.5 −9.7
Communist Bob Stewart 2,592 10.3 N/A
Majority 4,741 18.7 +9.1
Turnout 25,249 73.2 +9.2
Registered electors 34,511
Labour hold Swing +4.5

References

  1. ^ "Leigh Rayment - Commons". leighrayment.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ Williams, Chris (2004). "Jones, Morgan (1885–1939)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/66804.
  3. ^ a b Klugmann, James (1968). History of the Communist Party of Great Britain. London: Lawrence and Wishart. pp. 182–183.
  4. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (1 ed.). Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-019. Page 557