The 1923 Tiverton by-election was a parliamentary

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

held 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 650 memb ...

constituency of Tiverton in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

on 21 June 1923.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the death from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on 22 May 1923 of the sitting Unionist Party MP, Herbert Sparkes. Sparkes had been elected at the 1922 general election with a majority of just 74 votes over his

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

opponent

Francis Dyke Acland Sir Francis Dyke Acland, 14th Baronet, (7 March 1874 – 9 June 1939) was a British Liberal politician. He notably served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under Sir Edward Grey between 1911 and 1915. Ideologically, he was an ad ...

, with Labour’s Fred Brown badly adrift in third place and losing his deposit.

Candidates

The Unionists selected Colonel Gilbert Acland-Troyte from Bampton near Tiverton, a professional soldier, as their candidate.The Times 2 June 1923 p12 The Liberals stuck with Acland, who had formerly been MP for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

and for

Camborne Camborne (from Cornish language, Cornish ''Cambron'', "crooked hill") is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth, C ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and who had been a government minister. The

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

and Liberal candidates were actually cousins, their grandfathers had been brothers.The Times, 20 June 1923 p16 The Labour Party decided not to contest the election but Mr Brown wished to stand again. Labour refused to endorse his candidacy and he therefore resigned from the Labour Party and put himself up as an Independent Labour candidate.

Issues

The Liberal and Unionist candidates sparred over the relative merits of the government’s agricultural and land policy, with Acland urging the government to invest more in farming communities and relieve rates on agricultural land. Brown tried to make capital on this issue too emphasising his role as the local organiser for the Agricultural Workers’ Union. While Acland-Troyte also defended the government’s overall record, Francis Acland was playing up his south-western credentials and his personal qualities. The fact that the

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. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

and Asquithian wings of the Liberal Party in the area both supported Acland and the party nationally appeared to be moving towards reunion was also offered as a factor in shoring up support for the party in the by-election.

Result

Despite local Unionist optimism that they would be able to hold the seat, Acland got home with a majority of 402. Brown’s vote at the previous general election deserted him with ex-Labour voters recognising that he could not win, especially without official Labour backing, and voted for Acland to deny the seat to the Tories. Brown lost hs deposit again. Both the Liberal and Unionist candidates increased their total vote on an increased turnout from the general election (up from 80.1% to 88.1%) but the fall in the Labour vote was the key to the result.Chris Cook & John Ramsden ''By-elections in British politics''; UCL Press 1997 p273

Vacancy

Candidates

Issues

Result

References

See also