1937 Chertsey by-election
The Chertsey by-election of 1937 was held on 2 July 1937. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, Archibald Boyd-Carpenter.
Candidates
The Liberal Party selected Ronald Haylor, a Buckingham Gate Barrister. He was educated at the Leys and Trinity College, Oxford. He played hockey for Oxford University and rugby union for a leading London club.[1] He was Liberal Party candidate at Windsor in the 1929 general election and at Totnes for the general elections of 1931 and 1935.[2] There were growing moves for a Popular Front, where parties of the left came together to oppose fascism and nazi appeasement. In Chertsey, a local Popular Front was formed, which hoped to see the Liberal and Labour parties support a progressive candidate. They launched a charter in February 1937.[3] Haylor was given the backing of the Chertsey Popular Front and added the suffix of 'Progressive' to the party label.[4]
At first, a three-cornered contest had been expected between the Conservative candidate, the retired naval officer Arthur Marsden, Haylor and Mr F. J. Tompsett, a City rubber broker, who was to have stood as an Independent and anti-Communist. However, Tompsett decided to withdraw in favour of Marsden.[5]
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Arthur Marsden | 19,767 | 64.8 | ||
| Liberal | Ernest Ronald Haylor | 10,722 | 35.2 | ||
| Majority | 9,045 | 29.6 | |||
| Turnout | 39.2 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
References
- ^ The Times House of Commons, 1929
- ^ The Times House of Commons, 1935
- ^ The Liberal Magazine, 1937
- ^ The Scotsman 5 Jun 1937
- ^ "CHERTSEY FIGHT". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. British Newspaper Archive. 24 June 1937. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
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