The 1940 Leeds North East by-election was a parliamentary by-election in England held on 13 March 1940 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for the House of Commons constituency of Leeds North East.
The vacancy was caused by the resignation on 8 February 1940 of the sitting Member, Sir John Birchall, through the procedural device of appointment as Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds. [1] He had held the seat since its creation for the 1918 general election. [2]
The by-election was held during World War II, and the five largest political parties – Conservative, Labour, Liberal, National Labour and National Liberal – were all members of the Coalition Government. As such, they maintained an electoral pact and agreed not to contest any by-elections in seats held by any other party in the Government.
The Conservative candidate, John Craik-Henderson, was opposed only by Sydney Allen of the British Union of Fascists. Henderson won with 97.1% of the vote, but gained only 37.5% and lost his seat in the 1945 general election, when the seat was also contested by Labour and Liberal party candidates. [3]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Craik-Henderson | 23,882 | 97.1 | +32.3 | |
British Union of Fascists | Sydney Allen | 722 | 2.9 | New | |
Majority | 23,160 | 94.1 | +64.5 | ||
Turnout | 24,604 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
The 1940 Leeds North East by-election was a parliamentary by-election in England held on 13 March 1940 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for the House of Commons constituency of Leeds North East.
The vacancy was caused by the resignation on 8 February 1940 of the sitting Member, Sir John Birchall, through the procedural device of appointment as Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds. [1] He had held the seat since its creation for the 1918 general election. [2]
The by-election was held during World War II, and the five largest political parties – Conservative, Labour, Liberal, National Labour and National Liberal – were all members of the Coalition Government. As such, they maintained an electoral pact and agreed not to contest any by-elections in seats held by any other party in the Government.
The Conservative candidate, John Craik-Henderson, was opposed only by Sydney Allen of the British Union of Fascists. Henderson won with 97.1% of the vote, but gained only 37.5% and lost his seat in the 1945 general election, when the seat was also contested by Labour and Liberal party candidates. [3]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Craik-Henderson | 23,882 | 97.1 | +32.3 | |
British Union of Fascists | Sydney Allen | 722 | 2.9 | New | |
Majority | 23,160 | 94.1 | +64.5 | ||
Turnout | 24,604 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |