The 1937 Holland with Boston by-election was a
parliamentary by-election held on 24 June 1937 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
Holland with Boston
Holland with Boston was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of ...
.
Previous MP
The seat had become vacant when the constituency's National Liberal Member of Parliament (MP),
Sir James Blindell (1884 – 10 May 1937) died.
He was first elected as the constituency's MP at the
1929 Holland with Boston by-election
The 1929 Holland with Boston by-election was a by-election held on 21 March 1929 for the House of Commons constituency of Holland with Boston in Lincolnshire.
The by-election was caused by the death of the Unionist Member of Parliament, Art ...
, caused by the death of the
Conservative MP
Arthur Dean. Blindell overturned a Conservative majority of nearly 5,000 to win with a majority of 3,706. His victory was the last Liberal by-election gain until
Torrington in 1958.
Blindell was re-elected as a Liberal at the
1929 general election, but in 1931 he was one of the Liberal MPs who broke with their party to support
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
's
National Government A national government is the government of a nation.
National government or
National Government may also refer to:
* Central government in a unitary state, or a country that does not give significant power to regional divisions
* Federal governme ...
, eventually forming the
National Liberal Party.
He was re-elected as a National Liberal at the
1931 general election and at the
1935 general election. In both elections, the Conservatives (who also supported the National Government) did not field a candidate against him, and he was returned with large majorities.
Candidates
Two candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.
1. The National Liberal Party candidate, supporting the National government, was
Herbert Walter Butcher
Sir Herbert Walter Butcher, 1st Baronet (12 June 1901 – 11 May 1966) was an English people, English Conservative Party (UK), Conservative and National Liberal Party (UK, 1931), National Liberal politician. He sat in the House of Commons of the ...
(12 June 1901 - 11 May 1966). After winning the by-election
he retained the seat until he retired in 1966, shortly before he died.
2. Representing the Labour Party was E.E. Reynolds. He had previously contested Holland with Boston in the 1935 general election.
Votes
See also
*
Holland with Boston constituency
*
List of United Kingdom by-elections
*
United Kingdom by-election records
References
Sources
* ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
* ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919-1945'', edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)
* ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945-1979'', edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)
{{By-elections to the 37th UK Parliament
1937 in England
1937 elections in the United Kingdom
By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Lincolnshire constituencies