1923 Ludlow by-election

The 1923 Ludlow by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Ludlow, Shropshire, on 19 April 1923.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the succession to the peerage of the sitting Unionist MP, Ivor Windsor-Clive on 6 March 1923. He had been MP here since winning the seat in the January 1922 by-election.

Election history

Conservative or Unionist candidates had won the seat at every election from 1903 onwards. The result at the last General election was;

1922 general election^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Ivor Windsor-Clive	11,785	66.4	*N/A*
	National Liberal	Edward Calcott Pryce	5,979	33.7	New
Majority			5,808	32.7	N/A
Turnout			17,764	71.6	N/A
	Unionist hold		Swing

Candidates

The Unionist candidate was Lt-Col. George Windsor-Clive, a retired Army Officer. His father had sat for Ludlow in the 19th century. The Liberal candidate was Capt. Edward Calcott Pryce, a solicitor. He had been the National Liberal candidate at the last General Election. Following the mood around the country, the National Liberals and Liberals in Ludlow united behind his candidature. The Labour party chose to intervene in the contest and fielded Percy F. Pollard.

Result

Despite the intervention of a Labour candidate, the Liberals managed to reduce the Unionist majority. The Labour candidate lost his deposit.

Ludlow by-election, 1923^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Windsor-Clive	9,956	55.0	−11.4
	Liberal	Edward Calcott Pryce	6,740	37.2	+3.5
	Labour	Percy F. Pollard	1,420	7.8	New
Majority			3,216	17.8	−14.9
Turnout			18,116	73.0	+1.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	-7.5

Aftermath

Windsor-Clive continued as MP until retiring in 1945. The Unionists/Conservatives continued to hold the seat until 2001. The Liberal Party failed to capitalize on their strong showing and local unity by failing to run a candidate either in 1923 or 1924. Neither did Pryce stand for parliament again. The result at the following General election;

1923 general election^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Windsor-Clive	Unopposed	*N/A*	*N/A*
	Unionist hold

References

Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
Debrett's House of Commons 1922
By-Elections in British Politics by Cook and Ramsden

^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949

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1922	December: Portsmouth South
1923	January: Newcastle-upon-Tyne East February: Whitechapel and St George's Darlington March: Mitcham Willesden East Liverpool Edge Hill April: Anglesey Ludlow May: Berwick-upon-Tweed June: Morpeth Tiverton July: Leeds Central August: Portsmouth South October: Rutland and Stamford Yeovil
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