The 1940 Bow and Bromley by-election, was a parliamentary by-election held on 12 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 650 memb ...

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Bow and Bromley in the

Metropolitan Borough of Poplar Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a District (Metropolis), district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in ...

. The seat became vacant when the constituency's Labour member of Parliament (MP),

George Lansbury George Lansbury (22 February 1859 – 7 May 1940) was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour government of 1 ...

, died on 7 May 1940, aged 81. A leader of the Labour Party, he had held the seat since the 1922 general election, and previously from

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

to 1912.

Candidates

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the political parties in the

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

agreed not to contest by-elections in seats held by the other parties in the coalition. The Labour Party selected as its candidate

Charles Key Charles William Key, PC (8 August 1883 – 6 December 1964) was a British schoolmaster and Labour Party politician. Coming from a very working-class background, the generosity of a family friend made it possible for him to get a start in life ...

, a local

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and leader of the

Borough of Poplar Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became a metropolitan borough in the County of London in 1900. It comprised Poplar, Millwall, Bromle ...

. Key was a teacher, who left the classroom when war broke out to become the deputy controller of

civil defence Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, ...

in Poplar. His only opponent was Isabel Brown of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

. Brown had twice before been a Parliamentary candidate in Scotland (in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

and

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

); she previously worked in the Ministry of Education in Moscow. The

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, f ...

intended to put up Mick Clarke as a candidate; this was abandoned when he became one of the first group of members rounded up under

Defence Regulation 18B Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was one of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during and before the Second World War. The complete name for the rule was Regulation 18B of the Defence (General) Regula ...

.R. Benewick, ''Political Violence and Public Order'', London: Allan Lane, 1969, p. 294

Results

On a reduced turnout, Key held the seat for Labour with 95.8% of the votes. He remained Bow and Bromley's MP until the constituency was abolished for the 1950 general election, when he was elected as MP for the new Poplar constituency. He held that seat until

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Votes

References

Bibliography

* * * {{By-elections to the 37th UK Parliament Bow and Bromley by-election Bow and Bromley by-election Bow and Bromley by-election Bow and Bromley,1940 Bow and Bromley,1940

Candidates

Results

Votes

See also

References

Bibliography