The 1919 Pontefract by-election was a parliamentary

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 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 of

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

on 6 September 1919.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the death on 30 July 1919 of the sitting

Coalition Liberal The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victo ...

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 ...

, Sir Joseph Compton-Rickett. He was 72 years old. He had been an MP in the area since 1906 when he was elected for Osgoldcross. He had been Lloyd George's

Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

since 1916.

Electoral history

The Pontefract constituency had been Liberal since 1893 and Osgoldcross Liberal since 1885. At the general election in 1918, Compton-Rickett was re-elected with the support of the Coalition Government 'coupon'.

Candidates

The by-election was a straight fight between Isaac Burns for the Labour Party, the nominee of the

Yorkshire Miners' Association The Yorkshire Miners' Association was a British trade union. It is now an integral part of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). History The union was founded in 1881 with the merger of the South Yorkshire Miners' Association, and the ...

The Times, 7 August 1919 p7 and 50-year-old

Walter Forrest Sir Walter Forrest (July 1869 – 18 July 1939) was a British Liberal, later Liberal National politician and businessman. Birth and family Walter Forrest was the son of Sir William Croft Forrest, a textile manufacturer of Aldringham, Roundhay ...

, a woollen manufacturer from

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds, City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford, Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of ...

for the

Coalition Government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

, although the Liberals apparently had some trouble in finding a candidate at first. The local

Conservatives 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 ...

endorsed the candidacy of their Coalition partners and the Independent

Asquithian Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of ...

Liberals did not bring a forward a candidate.

Campaign

Labour

The health of the coal mining industry was an issue which Isaac Burns particularly sought to make his own against the background of a coal strike taking place in the area. He was hampered by the fact that although coal mining was a major industry in the area, the principal colliery towns had been attached to other constituencies in boundary changes and mining was not necessarily decisive as there were many other interests in the constituency. Agriculture dominated around

Barkston Ash Barkston Ash is a small village and civil parish close to Selby in North Yorkshire, England. It was formerly known as Barkston in the West Riding of Yorkshire. History The village dates back to at least 1090, when it was spelled Barcestone. No ...

and there was shipping and coastal trades around

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. According to the 2011 UK census, Goole parish had a population of 19,518, an increa ...

. Many in these industries were adversely affected by the coal strike and were unsympathetic to Burns and Labour as a result.The Times, 6 September 1919 p12 Burns stated he was in favour of a number of Labour policies including equal adult franchise for both sexes, pensions for mothers and free secondary education for all. He was in favour of widespread nationalisation of industry and a programme of public works to keep down unemployment. He also wanted Home Rule for Ireland and local government for India.The Times, 29 August 1919 p10

Liberal

Walter Forrest set out his position on a number of questions at his meetings of both the local Coalition Liberals and Unionist parties. He was opposed to the nationalisation of the coal mines and conscription, in favour of some relaxation of the liquor laws for the benefit of working men and improved welfare for men disabled in the war; he was also in favour of the full restoration of trade and commerce as soon as conditions allowed, to increase output and living standards.The Times, 18 August 1919 p7 He also strongly advocated economy and retrenchment but one of the Liberal MPs who visited the constituency to speak for him, Dr T J Macnamara the

Secretary to the Admiralty S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...

, in a speech designed to protect the position of his Department and no doubt appeal to the patriotic feelings of working class and Unionist voters, was keen to point out that national security must take precedence over economy.

Result

Forrest retained the seat for the government but with a reduced majority.

References

{{By-elections to the 31st UK Parliament 1919 elections in the United Kingdom By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in West Yorkshire constituencies 1919 in England Elections in Wakefield Pontefract 1910s in Yorkshire