1922 Chertsey by-election

1922 Chertsey by-election

← 1918 24 March 1922 1922 →
 
Candidate Richardson Gough
Party Unionist Liberal
Popular vote 11,811 9,490
Percentage 55.4% 45.6%

MP before election

MacMaster
Unionist

Subsequent MP

Richardson
Unionist

The 1922 Chertsey by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Chertsey on 24 March 1922.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting Unionist MP, Sir Donald Macmaster on 3 March 1922. He had been MP here since winning the seat in January 1910.

Election history

Chertsey had returned Conservative or Unionist candidates at every election since the constituency was created in 1885, apart from the Liberal landslide of 1906. The result at the last general election was:

1918 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Donald Macmaster 13,531 80.7 N/A
Labour Thomas T Linsey 3,232 19.3 New
Majority 10,299 61.4 N/A
Turnout 16,763 48.0 N/A
Unionist hold Swing N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Candidates

Sir Hubert Gough
  • The Unionist's chose first time candidate Philip Richardson, who had won a silver medal at the 1908 London Olympics, for Shooting. He was a Shipbuilder who ran his business from Wallsend.
  • The Labour Party, who had run a candidate in 1918 left the field and the Liberal Party, who had not run a candidate in 1918, intervened. The Liberals also chose a first time candidate in Sir Hubert Gough, who had commanded the British Fifth Army during the Great War and had recently retired from the Army.

Result

The Unionists held onto the seat with a greatly reduced majority.

Chertsey by-election, 1922[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Philip Wigham Richardson 11,811 55.4 −25.3
Liberal Sir Hubert Gough 9,490 45.6 New
Majority 2,321 10.8 −50.6
Turnout 21,301 55.4 +7.4
Unionist hold Swing

Aftermath

Philip Richardson continued as the MP until retiring in 1931. Sir Hubert Gough did not stand for election again. The Liberal Party never managed to mount as strong a challenge again as Chertsey remained a safe Conservative seat throughout its history. The result at the following general election;

1922 general election[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Philip Wigham Richardson 14,081 60.4 +5.0
Liberal Henry Samson Clark 9,228 39.6 −6.0
Majority 4,853 20.8 +10.0
Turnout 23,309 58.2 +2.8
Unionist hold Swing +5.0

References

  • Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
  • Debrett's House of Commons 1922
  • By-Elections in British Politics by Cook and Ramsden
  1. ^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
  2. ^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
  3. ^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949

See also