Ministerial by-election From 1708 to 1926, Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament (MPs) of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of Great Britain (and later the United Kingdom) automatically vacated their seats when made Mi ...

s to the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

at Westminster were held from 1801 to the 1920s when a Member of Parliament (MP) was appointed as a minister in

the government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. Unlike most Westminster by-elections, ministerial by-elections were often a formality, uncontested by

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

parties. Re-election was required under the Succession to the Crown Act 1707. This was in line with the principle established in 1624 that accepting an

office of profit An office of profit means a position that brings to the person holding it some financial gain, or advantage, or benefit. It may be an office or place of profit if it carries some remuneration, financial advantage, benefit etc. It is a term used i ...

from

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

would precipitate resignation from the House, with the option of standing for re-election. Typically a minister sought re-election in the constituency he had just vacated, but occasionally contested another seat which was also vacant. In 1910 ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' newspaper noted that the relevant Act had been passed in the reign of Queen Anne "to prevent the Court from swamping the House of Commons with

placemen In the political history of Britain, placemen were Members of Parliament who held paid office in the civil service, generally sinecures, simultaneously with their seat in the legislature. William and Mary Placemen exerted substantial influence ...

and pensioners", and described the process as "anomalous" and "indefensible" in the 20th century. The ''Re-Election of Ministers Act 1919'' ended the necessity to seek re-election within nine months of a

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, and the ''Re-Election of Ministers Act (1919) Amendment Act 1926'' ended the practice in all other cases.

Ministerial by-elections

34th Parliament (1924–1929)

31st Parliament (1919–1922)

30th Parliament (August 1914 – 1918)

10th Parliament (1831–1832)

9th Parliament (1830–1831)

8th Parliament (1826–1830)

7th Parliament (1820–1826)

6th Parliament (1818–1820)

5th Parliament (1812–1818)

4th Parliament (1807–1812)

3rd Parliament (1806–1807)

2nd Parliament (1802–1806)

1st Parliament (1801–1802)

See also

References