Ashton-under-Lyne by-election, 1931
The Ashton-under-Lyne by-election of 1931 was held on 30 April. It was triggered by the death of the town's Labour MP, Albert Bellamy, and resulted in a victory for the Conservative candidate, Col John Broadbent.
This was the first election contested by Oswald Mosley's New Party, which had only been formed on 1 March that year after Mosley had resigned from the Labour Party. The furious crowd on the market ground by the town hall shouted down Mosley as he tried to speak after the declaration, calling him a traitor and blaming him for Labour's defeat. He is reputed to have said to his aide, John Strachey: "That is the crowd that has prevented anyone doing anything in England since the (First World) War." Strachey believed that it was at that point that British fascism was born.
Mosley had been seriously ill with pleurisy and pneumonia, preventing him from taking part in the campaign until its last week. During the campaign there were huge crowds to hear Mosley's wife, Lady Cynthia, speak. However, the Ashton Reporter felt that these were artificially swelled by the many girls who wanted to admire the clothes worn by the glamorous Lady Cynthia.
Votes
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Broadbent | 12,420 | 44.6 | +11.6 | |
Labour | J. W. Gordon | 11,005 | 39.4 | −5.0 | |
New Party | Allan Young | 4,472 | 16.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,415 | 5.2 | |||
Turnout | 27,897 | 80.2 | −5.7 | ||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |
References
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- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs [self-published source][better source needed]
See also
- Use dmy dates from June 2013
- Use British English from June 2013
- Accuracy disputes from March 2012
- Articles lacking reliable references from March 2012
- Wikipedia articles incorporating an LRPP-MP template without an unnamed parameter
- By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Greater Manchester constituencies
- 1931 elections in the United Kingdom
- 1931 in England
- 20th century in Lancashire
- By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Lancashire constituencies
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Elections in Tameside