The by-election was caused by the resignation of the sitting UnionistMP, Sir Ian Malcolm on 28 October 1919. He had been the MP for Croydon since December 1910.
Electoral history
Croydon was a traditionally strong area for the Unionists. The Croydon constituency was created in 1885 and won by the Unionists at every election. In 1918, it was divided into two seats, and its MP, Ian Malcolm, was elected for the new Croydon South seat. He was helped by the absence of a Liberal opponent and the official support of the Coalition government;
The Unionists selected 49-year-old Sir Allan Smith to defend the seat. He was a solicitor and Chairman of the Management Board of the Engineering and Allied Employers’ National Federation.[3]
On 30 October, the Croydon Liberal and Radical Association unanimously adopted 60-year-old Alderman Howard Houlder to challenge for the seat.[4] He had not stood for parliament before but been elected to Croydon Council. He served as Mayor of Croydon from 1916 to 1919. He worked for the family shipping business.[5]
The Labour Party did not run a candidate this time.
Campaign
Polling Day was set for 14 November, just 17 days after the resignation of Malcolm. Close of Nominations occurred on 4 November to reveal a two cornered contest. Smith received official backing from the Coalition Government, while Houlder's candidacy was backed by the Liberal opposition.
Sir Allan Smith thought the result "was a victory for the forces of unity".[7]
Aftermath
Smith retained the seat at the following election because the anti-Unionist vote was split when Muggeridge intervened. Houlder did not stand for parliament again. The result at the following General election;
^‘SMITH, Sir Allan (Macgregor)’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Oct 2012 accessed 16 Dec 2013
^‘HOULDER, Howard’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 16 Dec 2013
^F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
1919, croydon, south, election, parliamentary, election, british, house, commons, constituency, croydon, south, november, 1919, 1918, november, 1919, 1922, candidate, smith, houlderparty, unionist, liberalpopular, vote, 573percentage, before, electionmalcolmun. The 1919 Croydon South by election was a parliamentary by election for the British House of Commons constituency of Croydon South on 14 November 1919 1919 Croydon South by election 1918 14 November 1919 1922 Candidate Smith HoulderParty Unionist LiberalPopular vote 11 777 9 573Percentage 55 2 44 8MP before electionMalcolmUnionist Subsequent MP SmithUnionist Contents 1 Vacancy 2 Electoral history 3 Candidates 4 Campaign 5 Result 6 Aftermath 7 References 8 See alsoVacancy EditThe by election was caused by the resignation of the sitting Unionist MP Sir Ian Malcolm on 28 October 1919 He had been the MP for Croydon since December 1910 Electoral history EditCroydon was a traditionally strong area for the Unionists The Croydon constituency was created in 1885 and won by the Unionists at every election In 1918 it was divided into two seats and its MP Ian Malcolm was elected for the new Croydon South seat He was helped by the absence of a Liberal opponent and the official support of the Coalition government 1918 general election 1 Party Candidate Votes C Unionist Ian Malcolm 17 813 71 8Labour H T Muggeridge 2 7 006 28 2Majority 10 807 43 6Turnout 24 819 55 0Unionist winC indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government Candidates EditThe Unionists selected 49 year old Sir Allan Smith to defend the seat He was a solicitor and Chairman of the Management Board of the Engineering and Allied Employers National Federation 3 On 30 October the Croydon Liberal and Radical Association unanimously adopted 60 year old Alderman Howard Houlder to challenge for the seat 4 He had not stood for parliament before but been elected to Croydon Council He served as Mayor of Croydon from 1916 to 1919 He worked for the family shipping business 5 The Labour Party did not run a candidate this time Campaign EditPolling Day was set for 14 November just 17 days after the resignation of Malcolm Close of Nominations occurred on 4 November to reveal a two cornered contest Smith received official backing from the Coalition Government while Houlder s candidacy was backed by the Liberal opposition Result EditThere was a big drop in the Unionist majority 1919 Croydon South by election 6 Party Candidate Votes C Unionist Allan Smith 11 777 55 2 16 6Liberal Howard Houlder 9 573 44 8 NewMajority 2 204 10 4 33 2Turnout 21 359 45 5 9 5Unionist hold Swing N AC indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government Sir Allan Smith thought the result was a victory for the forces of unity 7 Aftermath EditSmith retained the seat at the following election because the anti Unionist vote was split when Muggeridge intervened Houlder did not stand for parliament again The result at the following General election 1922 general election 8 Party Candidate Votes Unionist Allan Smith 15 356 47 3Labour H T Muggeridge 8 942 27 5 NewLiberal Thomas Dobson 8 183 25 2Majority 6 414 19 8Turnout 32 481 66 4Unionist hold SwingReferences Edit F W S Craig British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 1949 Political Reference Publications Glasgow 1949 Debrett s House of Commons 1922 SMITH Sir Allan Macgregor Who Was Who A amp C Black an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc 1920 2007 online edn Oxford University Press Dec 2012 online edn Oct 2012 accessed 16 Dec 2013 Aberdeen Journal 31 Oct 1919 HOULDER Howard Who Was Who A amp C Black an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc 1920 2007 online edn Oxford University Press Dec 2007 accessed 16 Dec 2013 F W S Craig British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 1949 Political Reference Publications Glasgow 1949 Hull Daily Mail 27 Nov 1919 F W S Craig British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 1949 Political Reference Publications Glasgow 1949See also EditList of United Kingdom by elections United Kingdom by election records Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1919 Croydon South by election amp oldid 1081737005, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
