University of Wales by-election, 1943

The University of Wales by-election, 1943 was a parliamentary by-election held between 25 and 29 January 1943 for the British House of Commons constituency of University of Wales.

Previous MP

The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Liberal Member of Parliament (MP), Ernest Evans (1885 – 18 January 1965) had been appointed a County Court Judge in 1942.

Evans was admitted to the bar in 1910 and became a King's Counsel (KC) in 1937.

After serving as private secretary to the Prime Minister David Lloyd George, he was elected as Coalition Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiganshire at a by-election in 1921. He held the seat at the 1922 general election as a National Liberal candidate, but was defeated standing as a Liberal at the 1923 general election by the Independent Liberal Rhys Hopkin Morris.

Evans did not stand again in Cardiganshire, but at the 1924 general election he defeated the Christian pacifist George Maitland Lloyd Davies to win the University of Wales constituency as a Liberal.

Candidates

The election took place during the Second World War. Under an agreement between the Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties; who were participating in a wartime coalition, the party holding a seat would not be opposed by the other two at a by-election. Accordingly the Liberal Party nominated a candidate, but no Labour or Conservative representative was put forward. Plaid Cymru, which was not a party to the electoral agreement, selected a candidate and three Independent candidates also stood; so a contested poll took place.

Five candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.

1. The Liberal Party candidate was Professor William John Gruffydd (14 February 1881 - 29 September 1954), who was Professor of Celtic at University College, Cardiff from 1918 until 1946 and then an Emeritus Professor. He was editor of "Y Llenor" from 1922 until 1951.

Gruffydd took an interest in Welsh politics and social questions, coming from a nonconformist, radical family. He was at one time a member of Plaid Cymru and served as deputy vice-president in 1937. However, Gruffydd voiced disagreement with "Plaid Cymru" party president Saunders Lewis, which eventually led to his leaving the party [ [A History of Wales, by John Davies, page 610] ] .

Gruffydd was elected to Parliament as a Liberal MP for the University of Wales seat on January 29, 1943. Gruffydd's opponent in the by-election was Plaid's Saunders Lewis, and he had effectively split the Welsh-speaking community [ [A History of Wales, by John Davies, page 610] ] . He was comfortably re-elected in the 1945 general election and sat until the abolition of University seats in 1950. He did not stand again for Parliament.

2. Representing Plaid Cymru in the by-election was its President, (John) Saunders Lewis, who had previously contested the University seat at the 1931 general election.

Lewis (15 October 1893 - 1 September 1985) was a Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic and political activist. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and founder of the Welsh National Party (later known as Plaid Cymru). Lewis is usually acknowledged to have been among the most prominent figures of twentieth-century Welsh-language literature. Lewis was a 1970 Nobel nominee for literature, and in 2005 was voted 10th as Wales' 'greatest-ever person' in a BBC Wales poll. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3523363.stm Bevan is ultimate Welsh hero extracted 12-04-07] ]

His Liberal opponent was a former "Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru" deputy vice-president. Gruffydd had voiced doubts about Lewis' ideas since 1933, [Davies, "op cit", page 610] and by 1943 he had joined the Liberal party. The "brilliant but wayward" Gruffydd was a favorite with Welsh-speaking intellectuals and drew 52.3 per cent of the vote, to Lewis' 22 per cent, or 1,330 votes. [Davies, "op cit", page 610]

The election effectively split the Welsh-speaking intelligentsia, and left Lewis embittered with politics and retreated from direct political involvement. [Davies, "op cit", page 611] However, the experience proved invaluable for "Plaid Cymru", as they began to refer to themselves, as "for the first time they were taken seriously as a political force. [Davies, "op cit", page 611] " The by-election campaign led directly to "considerable growth" for the party's membership. [Davies, "op cit", page 611]

3. Alun T. Davies stood as an Independent candidate. He subsequently contested Carmarthen in the 1959 and 1964 general elections, as well as Denbigh in 1966. In all of these other contests he stood as a Liberal candidate. [F.W.S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 and 1950-1973. The index to candidates in the latter volume confirms A.T. Davies was the same man as the Alun T. Davies who contested the by-election.]

4. The more successful of the two Independent Labour candidates contesting the by-election was Evan Davies, who did not contest any other Parliamentary elections.

5. The second placed Independent Labour candidate, who finished bottom of the poll at the by-election, was N.L. Evans. He did not contest any other Parliamentary election.

Votes

Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = William John Gruffydd
votes = 3,098
percentage = 52.3
change = -9.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Plaid Cymru
candidate = Saunders Lewis
votes = 1,330
percentage = 22.5
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politics)
candidate = Alun Davies
votes = 755
percentage = 12.8
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent Labour
candidate = Evan Davies
votes = 634
percentage = 10.7
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent Labour
candidate = N.L. Evans
votes = 101
percentage = 1.7
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 1,768
percentage = 29.8
change = +7.2Election box turnout
votes = 5,918
percentage = 53.4
change = -9.0Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 11,079Election box hold with party link
winner = Liberal Party (UK)
swing = "N/A"

Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = Ernest Evans
votes = 2,796
percentage = 61.3
change = -9.6Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = I. Davies
votes = 1,768
percentage = 38.7
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 1,028
percentage = 22.6
change = -19.2Election box turnout
votes = 4,564
percentage = 62.3
change = +0.9Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 7,325Election box hold with party link
winner = Liberal Party (UK)
swing = "N/A"

ee also

* University of Wales constituency
* List of United Kingdom by-elections
* United Kingdom by-election records

References

* "British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949", compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
* "Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919-1945", edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)