The 1922 Liverpool Exchange 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 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

constituency of Liverpool Exchange on 13 March 1922. This was a

ministerial by-election A ministerial by-election is a by-election to fill a vacancy triggered by the appointment of the sitting member of parliament (MP) as a minister in the cabinet. The requirement for new ministers to stand for re-election was introduced in the Ho ...

, held under laws in force until 1926 which required an MP appointed to government to seek re-election. The

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidate Leslie Scott was re-elected.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant on 9 March 1922 when 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 ...

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), Leslie Scott had been appointed as

Solicitor General for England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to ad ...

. He had held the seat since the December 1910 general election.

Candidates

While Scott's appointment was not

Gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

until 9 March, it had been announced on 6 March. On Wednesday 8 March, the

Irish Nationalist Party The Nationalist Party was a term commonly used to describe a number of parliamentary political parties and constituency organisations supportive of Home Rule for Ireland from 1874 to 1922. It was also the name of the main Irish nationalist Nati ...

in Liverpool decided to contest the seat. The Nationalist candidate A. Harford had been Scott's only opponent in 1918, when he had won 44.4% of the votes, and a delegation was sent to ask Harford to stand again. The independent Liberals who had remained outside

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 ...

's Conservative-dominated coalition government were initially undecided on whether to contest the election, and Scott addressed the local Coalition Liberals to seek their support. Nominations were set for 13 March, and polling for 22 March. However, on Sunday 12 March, the Nationalists decided not to contest the seat, and when nominations closed, Scott was the only candidate.

Result

Since only one candidate was nominated, there was no need for a vote. Scott was returned unopposed.

Aftermath

Scott was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed on 31 March that year, but served for only 6 months as Solicitor General. He retired from

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

at the 1929 general election, and after returning to his legal practice he became a judge in 1935.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liverpool Exchange by-election 1922 Exchange 1922 1922 elections in the United Kingdom 1922 in England 1920s in Liverpool Unopposed ministerial by-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in English constituencies March 1922 events

Vacancy

Candidates

Result

Aftermath

See also

References