The 1942 Salisbury 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 for the British House of Commons constituency of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

on 8 July 1942. It was won by the Conservative Party candidate John Morrison, later Baron Margadale.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant on the death of the 55-year-old sitting

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) James Despencer-Robertson. He had won the seat at a by-election in 1931, having previously been MP for Islington West from

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

Candidates

The Conservative candidate was 36-year-old John Morrison. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, most by-elections were unopposed, since the major parties had agreed not to contest by-elections when vacancies arose in seats held by the other parties; contests occurred only when independent candidates or minor parties chose to stand, and the

Common Wealth Party The Common Wealth Party (CW) was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom with parliamentary representation from the middle of the Second World War until the year after its end. Thereafter it continued in being, essentially as a pre ...

was formed with the specific aim of contesting war-time by-elections. In Salisbury, there were two

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: William Reginald Hipwell, editor of ''Reveille'', a " barrack room newspaper for the fighting forces", stood as an

Independent Progressive Independent progressive is a description in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, to denote a political progressive, who lacks a formal affiliation to a party. In the United Kingdom In the late 19th century/early 20th century, the Progressive Party ...

and J. D. Monro as an "Independent Democrat".

Result

On a greatly reduced turnout, Morrison held the seat for the Conservatives, with more than two-thirds of the votes and a majority of 8,858. He held the seat until his elevation to the peerage in 1965.

Votes

References

;Notes ;Sources * * {{By-elections to the 37th UK Parliament By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Wiltshire constituencies 1942 in England 1942 elections in the United Kingdom Politics of Salisbury 20th century in Wiltshire

Vacancy

Candidates

Result

Votes

See also

References