Morpeth by-election, 1923

The Morpeth Lynn by-election, 1923 was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Morpeth in Northumberland on 21st June 1923. The seat had become vacant on the death in May 1923 of the constituency's Labour Member of Parliament (MP) John Cairns, who had held the seat since the 1918 general election.

Labour selected as its candidate the former leader of the Miners Federation of Great Britain, Robert Smillie, a founder of the Independent Labour Party who had stood unsuccessfully at many previous parliamentary elections.

The Conservative Party had come third in Morpeth at the 1922 general election but did not field a candidate in the by-election, and Smillie's only opponent was the Liberal F.C. Thornborough. Smillie held the seat comfortably, with an increased majority.

Smillie was re-elected at the general election in December 1923 and again at the 1924 election, but stood down at the 1929 general election due to ill-heath. Thornborough stood at four other elections, but never entered Parliament.

Morpeth remained a Labour-held constituency until the party split at the 1931 election, when the Conservative Godfrey Nicholson served one term. Labour's Robert Taylor regained the seat at the 1935 election, and Morpeth elected Labour MPs until the constituency's abolition for the 1983 general election.

Votes

Morpeth by-election, 1923
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Smillie	20,053	60.5	+12.2
	Liberal	F.C. Thornborough	13,087	39.5	+7.3
Majority			6,966	21.0	−4.9
Turnout			33,140	76.9	48
	Labour hold		Swing

See also

• Morpeth (UK Parliament constituency)
• Morpeth, Northumberland
• List of United Kingdom by-elections (1918–1931)

References

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