The 1942 Rothwell by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 7 August 1942 for the British House of Commons constituency of Rothwell in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. The seat became vacant when the Labour

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)

William Lunn William Lunn may refer to: *William Lunn (politician) (1872–1942), English Labour Party politician *William Lunn (educator) (1796–1886), Canadian educator, businessman, and politician *William Lunn (rugby union) (1926–1996), New Zealand rugby ...

died on 17 May 1942, aged 69. Lunn had held the seat since its creation for the 1918 general election.

Candidates

The Labour Party selected as its candidate Alderman

Thomas Brooks Thomas, Thom, Tom, or Tommy Brooks may refer to: Politics and religion * Thomas Brooks (Puritan) (1608–1680), Puritan minister and author * Thomas Brooks, American minister after whom Brookfield, Connecticut, was named * Thomas Brooks, 1st Ba ...

MBE, a miner and

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

organiser who had been a local councillor since 1914. The parties in the war-time Coalition Government had agreed not to contest vacancies in seats held by other coalition parties, but other by-elections were contested by

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidates or those from minor parties. (The most recent had been Maldon in June 1942, where an independent Labour candidate won what had previously been a safe seat for the

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 ...

s).

Result

No other candidates were nominated in Rothwell, so Brooks was returned unopposed. He held the Rothwell seat until the constituency's abolition for the 1950 general election. He is best remembered for his successful campaign to repeal the

Witchcraft Act 1735 The Witchcraft Act 1735 (9 Geo. 2 c. 5) was an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1735 which made it a crime for a person to claim that any human being had magical powers or was guilty of practising witchcraft. With this, t ...

Votes

References

* * {{By-elections to the 37th UK Parliament 1942 elections in the United Kingdom 1942 in England By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in West Yorkshire constituencies Unopposed by-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom (need citation) 1940s in Yorkshire

Candidates

Result

Votes

See also

References