1932 Dulwich by-election

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| <- 1931 | 8 June 1932 | 1935 ->

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Candidate  | Smith | Cooke-Taylor | Bentwich
Party  | Conservative | Liberal | Labour
Popular vote  | 12,342  | 3,998  | 3,905
Percentage  | 61.0  | 19.8  | 19.3

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| MP before election

Hall
Conservative

| Subsequent MP

Smith
Conservative

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The 1932 Dulwich by-election was a by-election held on 8 June 1932 for the British House of Commons constituency of Dulwich in South London.

## Vacancy

[edit]

The by-election was triggered by the death of the serving Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP), Sir Frederick Hall.

## Electoral history

[edit]

The former Conservative member had a large majority and the seat was considered a safe seat for the party. The result of the last election was;

General election 1931: Dulwich  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Conservative | Frederick Hall | 21,752  | 71.5  |
| Labour | F. Hughes  | 4,747  | 15.6  |
| Liberal | C. R. Cooke-Taylor | 3,924  | 12.9  |
Majority  | 17,005  | 55.9  |
Turnout | 30,423  |  |
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |

## Candidates

[edit]

* The Conservative and National candidate was 48-year-old Bracewell Smith, a member of Holborn Borough Council from 1922, serving as Mayor 1931–32, and he served on the London County Council from 1925 to 1928. Smith made his fortune in property. In particular he was a major hotel investor/owner and who built the Park Lane Hotel in 1920.[1]
* The Labour candidate was 40-year-old Helen Bentwich, a trade unionist. She was a niece of the Home Secretary, Sir Herbert Samuel, and had recently returned from Palestine where her husband, Norman Bentwich, had been Attorney-General.
* The Liberal candidate was 49-year-old Dr Charles Cooke-Taylor, a psychiatrist. In 1910 Cooke-Taylor contested Holborn as a candidate of the Liberal Party. Between 1918 and 1931 he contested the Dulwich seat six times, though he never won.

## Campaign

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The major issues were the stringent financial policies of the National Government, and for the Liberal candidate, opposition to protectionism.

## Result

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The result was much as expected, with turnout around two-thirds of what it had been in the previous year's general election. The Conservative candidate's majority was slashed in half, but the Liberal candidate slightly increased his vote, pushing Labour into third place.

Dulwich by-election, 1932 Electorate  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Conservative | Bracewell Smith | 12,342  | 61.0  | −10.5
| Liberal | C. R. Cooke-Taylor | 3,998  | 19.8  | +6.9
| Labour | Helen Bentwich | 3,905  | 19.3  | +3.7
Majority  | 8,344  | 41.2  | −14.7
Turnout | 20,245  | 43.0  |
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |

## Aftermath

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General election 1935: Dulwich Electorate 43,025  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Conservative | Bracewell Smith | 16,870  | 60.8  |
| Labour | J V Delahaye  | 7,142  | 25.7  |
| Liberal | C. R. Cooke-Taylor | 3,743  | 13.5  |
Majority  | 9,728  | 35.1  |
Turnout | 27,755  |  |
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |

## See also

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* List of United Kingdom by-elections
* Dulwich constituency

## References

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* The Times, 9 June 1932
* Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

Specific

1. ^ www.luxuryhoteladvisor.com Archived November 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

* v
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« 35th Parliament « By-elections to the 36th Parliament of the United Kingdom » 37th Parliament »

1932|

* February: Croydon South
* New Forest and Christchurch
* Henley
* March: Dunbartonshire
* April: Richmond-upon-Thames
* Wakefield
* Eastbourne
* St Marylebone
* June: Dulwich
* Montrose Burghs
* July: Westminster Abbey
* North Cornwall
* Wednesbury
* September: Twickenham
* Cardiganshire

1933|

* January Liverpool Exchange
* February: East Fife
* Rotherham
* March: Ashford
* Rhondda East
* May: Normanton
* June: Hitchin
* Altrincham
* September: Clay Cross
* October: Fulham East
* November: Kilmarnock
* Skipton
* Manchester Rusholme
* Rutland and Stamford
* Harborough
* December: Wentworth

1934|

* February: Cambridge
* Lowestoft
* Portsmouth North
* March: Combined Scottish Universities
* April: Basingstoke
* Hammersmith North
* May: Upton
* Hemsworth
* June: Merthyr
* Monmouth
* Twickenham
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* July: Rushcliffe
* October: Lambeth North
* Swindon
* November: Putney

1935|

* Liverpool Wavertree
* Cambridge University
* March: Norwood
* Eastbourne
* April: Perth
* May: Edinburgh West
* Tamworth
* Aberdeen South
* June: Combined Scottish Universities
* City of London
* July: Liverpool West Derby
* Liverpool West Toxteth
* Sevenoaks
* September: Dumfriesshire

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