1931 Sunderland by-election

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The Sunderland by-election of 1931 was held on 26 March 1931. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Labour MP, Alfred Smith. Smith and his Labour colleague Dr Marion Phillips had gained the two-member seat at the last general election from the Conservatives Luke Thompson and Walter Raine, who had first won it in 1922[1] Another defeated candidate in 1929 was the Liberal Dr Betty Morgan, then aged 24.[1] Both Thompson and Morgan contested the by-election.

The by-election saw Luke Thompson narrowly regain the seat he had lost in 1929 for the Conservatives. At the general election held later in the year, Thompson was returned with a greatly increased majority of over 23,000 votes, and his fellow Conservative Samuel Storey was also comfortably elected as the seat's second member.[2]

General election 1929: Sunderland[3] Electorate 101,875
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Green tickYMarion Phillips 31,794 19.5
Labour Green tickYAlfred Smith 31,085 19.0
Conservative Walter Raine 29,180 17.9
Conservative Luke Thompson 28,937 17.7
Liberal Betty Morgan 21,300 13.0
Liberal John Pratt 21,142 12.9
Majority 1,905 1.1
Turnout 163,438
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
Sunderland by-election, 1931[3] Electorate 103,363
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Luke Thompson 30,497 40.3
Labour James Thomas Brownlie 30,074 39.8
Liberal Betty Morgan 15,020 19.9
Majority 423 0.5
Turnout 75,591 73.1
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

References[]

  1. ^ a b The Times House of Commons 1929. London: The Times Office. 1929. p. 62.
  2. ^ The Times House of Commons 1931. London: The Times Office. 1931. p. 58.
  3. ^ a b British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F.W.S.


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