1929 Battersea South by-election

The 1929 Battersea South by-election was held on 7 February 1929. The by-election was held when the incumbent Conservative MP, Francis Curzon, succeeded to the peerage as Earl Howe. It was won by the Labour candidate William Bennett in a three-way contest.^[1]^[2]

Candidates

The local Liberal association selected 40 year-old Vivian Claude Albu as their candidate. Albu had stood for the Liberals in the 1922 general election at Battersea North.^[3] Labour selected William Bennett, who had been their candidate in Guildford in three general elections between 1918 and 1923. The Conservative Party selected Harry Selley, a builder and member of the London County Council for Battersea South.^[4]

Result

Battersea South by-election, 1929
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	William Bennett	11,789	46.13
	Conservative	Harry Selley	11,213	43.87
	Liberal	Vivian Claude Albu	2,858	10.00
Majority			576	2.25
Turnout			25,557
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Aftermath

A few months later at the next general election Bennett again defeated Selley, this time by 418 votes in a much increased poll. The Liberals were again third, though with a new candidate, the former Mayor of Battersea, Captain William J. West.^[4]^[5] In 1931 Selley won the seat at the third attempt, defeating Bennett with a majority of over 15,000 votes.^[5]

References

^ "British By-Election". The Mercury (Hobart). 9 February 1929. p. 6. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
^ The Liberal Year Book, 1926
^ ^a ^b The Times House of Commons 1929. London: The Times Office. 1929. pp. 17–18.
^ ^a ^b The Times House of Commons 1931. London: The Times Office. 1931. p. 17.