The 1940 Newcastle upon Tyne North by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 7 June 1940 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 65 ...

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 (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of Newcastle upon Tyne North.

Previous MP

The seat had become vacant on when the constituency's

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 ...

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), Sir Nicholas Grattan-Doyle, had resigned from Parliament on 10 April, aged 77. He had been the constituency's MP since its creation for the 1918 general election.

Candidates

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, unopposed by-elections were common, 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. In keeping with the agreement, neither the local Labour Party and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

fielded a candidate in Newcastle North. The

candidate was Henry Grattan-Doyle, whose selection split the local Conservative Association. A group broke away to form the Newcastle North (1940) Conservative Association, and they fielded Sir

Cuthbert Headlam Sir Cuthbert Morley Headlam, 1st Baronet, (27 April 1876 – 27 February 1964) was a British Conservative politician. Career Born in Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire, the third of the five sons of Francis John Headlam (1829–1908), stipendiary m ...

as an "Independent Conservative" candidate. Headlam had been MP for

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

from

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and from

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

, and had held several junior ministerial posts. He had also contested the Gateshead by-election in 1931, coming a close second in what had been a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combina ...

for Labour.

Results

On a very low turnout, the result was an overwhelming victory for Headlam, who took 71% of the votes. Returned to 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 ...

, he promptly took the Conservative

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

, and held the seat as a Conservative until 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 1951 election.

Votes

References

* * 1940 elections in the United Kingdom 1940 in England 20th century in Newcastle upon Tyne Elections in Newcastle upon Tyne By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Northumberland constituencies June 1940 events {{England-UK-Parl-by-election-stub

Previous MP

Candidates

Results

Votes

See also

References