The 1918 Clapham by-election was a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held on 21 June 1918 for the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. The by-election was triggered by the elevation to the peerage of the serving

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP), Denison Faber. The Unionist (Conservative) candidate was Harry Greer. With the wartime (set to become postwar) coalition in office, there was no other candidate from the major parties.

Henry Hamilton Beamish Henry Hamilton Beamish (2 June 1873 – 27 March 1948) was a leading United Kingdom, British Antisemitism, antisemitic journalist and the founder of The Britons (organisation), The Britons in 1919, the first organisation set up in Britain for the ...

, a writer for the pro-war conspiracy theory penning Vigilance or Vigilante Society, ran as an independent with the support of populist MP

Noel Pemberton Billing Noel Pemberton Billing (31 January 1881 – 11 November 1948), sometimes known as Noel Pemberton-Billing, was a British aviator, inventor, publisher and Member of Parliament for Hertford. He founded the firm that became Supermarine and promoted ...

, whose very prominent libel case of the century of defending various accusations of German blackmail and depravity was a staged exercise in propaganda. The main issue was ostensibly Beamish's earnest demand for the

denaturalization Denaturalization is the loss of citizenship against the will of the person concerned. Denaturalization is often applied to ethnic minorities and political dissidents. Denaturalization can be a penalty for actions considered criminal by the state ...

and internment of all citizens of enemy countries in the United Kingdom, the closure of all foreign banks and the wearing of a badge by all foreign aliens. Greer expressed the view that 'stronger measures were necessary' and published a letter from the Prime Minister, who said he was 'determined to take whatever action is shown to be necessary'. The ''Times'' reported unexpected support for Beamish in areas that were normally predominantly Conservative. The result was a modest majority for the party from an established party.''The Times'', 22 June 1918.

Votes

References

* ''The Times'', 21 December 1918 *

Votes

References

See also