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1925 Galloway by-election

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The 1925 Galloway by-election was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Galloway in Scotland on 17 November 1925. The by-election was won by the Unionist Party candidate Sidney Streatfeild.

Vacancy

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The Unionist MP Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Henniker-Hughan had died on 4 October 1925. He had held the seat since gaining it from the Liberals at the 1924 general election;

General election 1924 Electorate 30,107
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Arthur Henniker-Hughan 12,268 53.1 New
Liberal Cecil Dudgeon 10,852 46.9 N/A
Majority 1,416 6.2 N/A
Turnout 23,120 76.8 N/A
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing N/A

History

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The constituency was created for the 1918 general election, at which a Coalition Government supporting, couponed, sitting Liberal MP was returned unopposed. At the following General Election in 1922, after the Coalition Government had ended, a Liberal beat a Unionist and in 1923, the sitting Liberal was returned unopposed.

Candidates

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The Unionist candidate was 31-year-old company director, Captain Sidney Streatfeild, who had previously contested the City of Durham constituency at the 1924 general election.

The Liberal Party candidate was 40-year-old local farmer, Major Cecil Dudgeon, (Portrait)[1] who had held the seat from 1922 until his defeat in 1924 by Henniker-Hughan.

The Labour Party, which had never before contested the constituency, decided to intervene and fielded as candidate, John Mitchell.

Campaign

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Polling Day was fixed for 17 November 1925, 43 days after the death of the previous member, allowing for a long campaign.

Result

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On an increased turnout, Streatfeild held the seat for the Unionists, with a reduced majority of 928 votes. The Labour candidate finished third, splitting the anti-Unionist vote enough to deny the Liberal victory;

Galloway by-election, 1925 Electorate 29,992
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sidney Streatfeild 10,846 43.5 −9.6
Liberal Cecil Dudgeon 9,918 39.7 −7.2
Labour John Mitchell 4,207 16.8 New
Majority 928 3.8 −2.4
Turnout 24,971 83.3 +6.5
Unionist hold Swing −1.2

Aftermath

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At the following General Election in 1929, Dudgeon gained the seat for the Liberals;

General election 1929 Electorate 39,621[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Cecil Dudgeon 13,461 42.4 +2.7
Unionist Sidney Streatfeild 13,360 42.1 −1.4
Labour Hector McNeill 4,903 15.5 −1.3
Majority 101 0.3 N/A
Turnout 31,724 80.1 −3.2
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +2.1

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Times, 1 June 1929

References

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  • Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  • Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [self-published source] [better source needed]