The 1920 Middleton and Prestwich 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 22 November 1920 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, ...

of Middleton and Prestwich in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. The by-election was triggered by the appointment as a judge 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

Ryland Adkins Sir William Ryland Dent Adkins (11 May 1862 – 30 January 1925) was an English barrister, judge and Liberal politician. Family and education Ryland Adkins, as he was known at least professionally, was the son of William Adkins JP of Springfi ...

KC. Adkins was appointed

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Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and this being an office of profit he was obliged by the electoral law of the day to submit to a by-election.

Constituency background

Adkins had represented Middleton since winning the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

at the 1906 general election. At the 1918 general election Middleton was merged with Prestwich to create a new seat and Adkins retained it as a supporter of the coalition government of

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 ...

and Bonar Law, having received

The Coalition Coupon 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 victory ...

, despite the fact that he had previously acted as a loyal

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 ...

. In 1918 Adkins had faced only

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 ...

opposition and had won by a majority of 8,330 votes.

By-election truce

When the by-election was first occasioned, it had apparently been the intention of the Labour Party to contest it. The

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 ...

were content to stand aside again for their coalition partner. Labour were planning to put up

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

Matthew Burrow Farr Matthew Burrow Farr (1862 – 31 December 1941) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. Farr worked in the cotton industry in Mossley, and he became the secretary of the Mossley Card and Blowing Room Operatives' Association at ...

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshir ...

as their candidate but owing to an outbreak of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

in the constituency a by-election truce was called on the advice of the medical authorities so as to avoid the need for the usual door to door canvassing and holding of public meetings. This opportunity to withdraw with honour may have suited Labour given the difficulty in winning the seat they faced against the combined Liberal and Conservative electorate lined up behind Adkins.

Result

In the event therefore no candidate stepped forward to challenge Sir Ryland Adkins and he was returned unopposed.

Adkins, 1920–1923

Adkins continued to represent the constituency until 1923, the second general election after the fall of the Coalition when he lost to the Tories by 529 votes in a three-cornered contest, with Alderman Farr for Labour and A N Stewart-Sandeman for the Conservatives.F W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results, 1918–1949''; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p401

Constituency background

By-election truce

Result

Adkins, 1920–1923

References

See also