The 1919 Plymouth Sutton by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 28 November 1919 for the British House of Commons constituency of

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * ...

in the city of Plymouth,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. The seat had become vacant when the constituency's

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

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 o ...

(MP), Waldorf Astor, succeeded the peerage as the second

Viscount Astor Viscount Astor, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1917 for the financier and statesman William Waldorf Astor, 1st Baron Astor. He had already been created Baron Astor, of ...

on the death of his father on 18 October 1919. Astor had held the seat since the 1918 general election, and its predecessor Plymouth since the December 1910 general election.

Candidates

* The Conservative Party selected as its candidate Astor's wife Nancy, Lady Astor. She was also the candidate of the Coalition Government. * The Asquithian Liberals stood

Isaac Foot Isaac Foot (23 February 1880 – 13 December 1960) was a British Liberal politician and solicitor. Early life Isaac Foot was born in Plymouth, the son of a carpenter and undertaker who was also named Isaac Foot, and educated at Plymouth Publi ...

, who had served on Plymouth City Council and had previously contested

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...

and Bodmin. * W. T. Gay stood for

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, having done so in the 1918 election. Thomas William Mercer again served as his agent.Joyce Bellamy, "Mercer, Thomas William (1884-1947)", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.I, pp.238-239

Results

Lady Astor retained the seat. She became the first woman to take up her seat in the Commons (the first woman to be elected,

Countess Markievicz Constance Georgine Markievicz ( pl, Markiewicz ; ' Gore-Booth; 4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927), also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, socialist, and the firs ...

, the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

MP for

Dublin St Patrick's Dublin St Patrick's, a division of Dublin, was a borough constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the United Kingdom House of Commons from 1885 until 1922. From the dissolution of 1922, the area was no longer repre ...

, refused to take her seat).

Votes

References

* * {{By-elections to the 31st UK Parliament Plymouth Sutton by-election By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Devon constituencies Plymouth Sutton by-election Elections in Plymouth, Devon 20th century in Plymouth, Devon Plymouth Sutton by-election 1910s in Devon

Candidates

Results

Votes

See also

References