1932 Henley by-election

UK parliamentary by-election

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The 1932 Henley by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 25 February 1932 for the House of Commons constituency of Henley.

## Vacancy

[edit]

The seat had become vacant when the Conservative Member of Parliament Robert Henderson died on 16 January 1932.[citation needed] He had represented the seat in Parliament since the 1924 general election.[citation needed]

## Electoral history

[edit]

Created for the 1885 general election, Henley had been won by the Conservative candidate at every election except for 1906; when it was won by a Liberal. Liberal candidate Sir Henry Rew came very close to winning at both the 1922 and 1923 general elections. The Labour Party, had only ever run candidates at the two previous elections, 1929 and 1931, finishing in third place on both occasions. At the last election, the Conservative victory was comfortable.

General election 1931: Henley [1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Robert Henderson | 24,015  | 72.2  |
| Liberal | Borlase Matthews  | 5,411  | 16.3  |
| Labour | Frederick J Hembury  | 3,809  | 11.5  |
Majority | 18,604  | 55.9  |
Turnout | 33,235  | 68.6  |
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |

## Candidates

[edit]

The Liberal challenger was 54 year-old[2] Borlase Matthews. He had been the Liberal candidate at the 1931 general election. He was an engineer but left engineering to take up farming. He was a Member of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society. He was a Member of the Electricity Commissioners Rural Electrification Conference. He was Chairman of the Rural Reconstruction Association. He was also an author of several books and papers on farming.[3]

## Campaign

[edit]

The key issue of the election was free trade v tariffs. Both the Conservative and Liberal parties were members of the National Government and a debate was going on within the government over this issue with the Liberals favouring free trade and the Conservatives, protection. The debate in Henley was identical to that national debate.[4] Former Liberal leader Lloyd George, who had split from his party over their support for the National Government, sent a public letter of support to the Liberal candidate.[5]

## Result

[edit]

The Conservative candidate Sir Gifford Fox, held the seat for the party. The Conservative share of the vote fell by 2.3% while the Liberal share, helped by the absence of a Labour candidate, went up by 13.8%. This gave a swing from Conservative to Liberal of 8%. The Conservative share of the vote was still higher than it had been at the free trade v tariff general election in 1923.

Henley by-election, 1932  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Gifford Fox | 16,553  | 69.9  | –2.3
| Liberal | Borlase Matthews  | 7,129  | 30.1  | +13.8
Majority | 9,424  | 39.8  | –16.1
Turnout | 23,682  | 48.9  | –19.7
| Conservative hold | Swing | -8.0  |

## Aftermath

[edit]

The difference of opinion inside the National Government on the issue of trade, led to the Liberal Party withdrawing from the National Government. At the following general election, Sir Gifford Fox faced a new Liberal challenger and comfortably won re-election. Borlase Matthews was the unsuccessful Liberal candidate at Ashford.

General election 1935: Henley [6] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Gifford Fox | 22,024  | 70.4  |
| Liberal | John Herbert May  | 9,254  | 29.6  |
Majority | 12,770  | 40.8  |
Turnout | 31,278  | 56.9  |
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
2. ^ Who's who in Engineering, 1921
3. ^ The Times House of Commons, 1931
4. ^ "Henley By-Election." Times [London, England] 13 Feb. 1932: 7. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 1 Aug. 2016.
5. ^ "Henley By-Election." Times [London, England] 16 Feb. 1932: 14. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 1 Aug. 2016.
6. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig

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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
* Weston-super-Mare
* Fermanagh and Tyrone
* 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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