Woodbridge by-election, 1920

The Woodbridge by-election of 1920 was held on 28 July 1920. The by-election was held due to the resignation of the incumbent Coalition Unionist MP, Robert Francis Peel. It was won by the Coalition Unionist candidate Sir Arthur Churchman.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the sitting Unionist MP, Robert Francis Peel resigning his seat to become Governor and Commander-in-Chief of St Helena. He had been MP here since re-gaining the seat from the Liberals in January 1910.

Electoral history

The constituency was a Unionist/Liberal marginal. Since the seat's creation in 1885, it had been won by a Unionist candidate six times and by a Liberal three times. The Coalition Government 'Coupon' at the last General Election in 1918 was awarded to the sitting Unionist rather than the Liberal challenger. Despite this, the Liberal vote held up very well;

Robert Peel

General Election 1918: Woodbridge^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Col. Robert Francis Peel	8,654	55.8	+3.2
	Liberal	Maj. William Rowley Elliston	6,842	44.2	-3.2
Majority			1,812	11.6	+6.4
Turnout				51.0
	Unionist hold		Swing	+3.2

Candidates

The Unionists selected 53-year-old tobacco manufacturer Sir Arthur Churchman as their candidate to defend the seat.
The Liberal candidate from the last election, Rowley Elliston did not stand this time, despite his good showing in 1918. In fact, no Liberal candidate came forward.
The Labour Party, who had not contested the seat before, selected 46-year-old H.D. Harben, a former Liberal candidate, as their candidate to challenge for the seat. He had contested the 1906 General Election at Worcester coming second. He then contested the dual member seat of Portsmouth at the December 1910 General Election, coming fourth.

Campaign

Polling Day was set for 28 July 1920. Nominations closed to confirm that the election would be a two-way contest. Churchman received the official endorsement of the Coalition Government.

Result

Woodbridge by-election, 1920^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Sir Arthur Charles Churchman	9,898	53.2	-2.6
	Labour	Henry Devenish Harben	8,707	46.8	n/a
Majority			1,191	6.4
Turnout				61.4	+10.4
	Unionist hold		Swing

Aftermath

The result at the following General Election in 1922 was;

General Election 1922: Woodbridge^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Sir Arthur Charles Churchman	12,396	56.7	+3.5
	Labour	Edward John Cecil Neep	9,476	43.3	-3.5
Majority			2,920	13.4	+6.8
Turnout				69.1	+7.7
	Unionist hold		Swing	+3.4

References

↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig

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1919	February: Liverpool West Derby March: Leyton West North Londonderry Oxford University Hull Central April: Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central May: East Antrim July: Swansea East Bothwell Dublin University August: Widnes September: Pontefract October: Manchester Rusholme November: Chester-le-Street Croydon South Isle of Thanet Plymouth Sutton December: St Albans Bromley Spen Valley

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