Bridgwater by-election, 1938

The Bridgwater by-election, 1938 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Bridgwater, Somerset held on 17th November 1938. The by-election was triggered when Reginald Croom-Johnson, the sitting Conservative member was appointed a High Court Judge.

Background

On 29th September 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had signed the Munich Agreement, handing over the Sudetenland to German control. This issue polarised British politics at the time, with many Labour supporters, Liberals, and some Conservatives strongly opposed to this policy of appeasement [The Times 4th Oct. 1938] . Many by-elections in the autumn of 1938 were fought around this issue, notably the Oxford by-election, where Liberals and Labour united in support of an Independent anti-appeasement candidate.

Vernon Bartlett was a journalist and broadcaster with extensive experience of foreign affairs. He was approached by Richard Acland, Liberal MP for Barnstaple, a seat bordering Bridgwater, about standing as an anti-appeasement candidate in the by-election [ [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRbartlett.htm Spartacus Educational] ] . Bartlett agreed to do so providing he had the support of the Liberal and Labour parties.

The Bridgwater Liberal Party unanimously backed Bartlett's candidature [The Times 26th Oct. 1938] . The local Labour Party generally supported him, although many in the Labour Party were unenthusiastic about co-operation with the Liberals [Ibid 9th Nov. 1938] .

The Conservative Party selected 26 year old lawyer and former Territorial Army officer Patrick Gerald Heathcoat-Amory of Tiverton as its candidate. He was thought to be assured of a sizeable agricultural vote, half of the electorate lived in rural areas at this time [Estimate based on 1931 Census] .

Campaign

The campaign was intense and focused almost entirely on foreign affairs. Heathcoat-Amory supported Chamberlain's appeasement policy [The Times 9th Nov. 1938] . Bartlett opposed appeasement and was a very persuasive speaker on the subject [Ibid 19th Nov. 1938] . His voice was already well known due to his radio broadcasts. His experience of foreign affairs and erudite speeches were very effective at a time when public meetings were a vital part of electioneering.

Many Liberal personalities came to support Bartlett, including Megan Lloyd George, Lady Violet Bonham Carter and Sir Charles Hobhouse. Some Labour voters were reluctant to support Bartlett, believing he was really a Liberal candidate [Ibid 17th Nov. 1938] . However, he did receive a letter of support from 39 Labour MPs just before polling day.

Result

The intensive campaign caused turnout to increase from 72.7% at the last election to 82.3%. Bartlett won the seat with a majority of 2,332 or 6.3%. He hailed the result as a defeat for Chamberlain, saying that it showed people understood the dangers of the Government's foreign policy [Ibid 19th Nov. 1938] .

Election box begin
title=Bridgwater by-election, 17th November 1938Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent Progressive
candidate = Vernon Bartlett
votes = 19,540
percentage = 53.2
change = +53.2Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Patrick Heathcoat-Amory
votes = 17,208
percentage = 46.8
change = -10.1Election box majority
votes = 2,332
percentage = 6.3
change = Election box turnout
votes = 36,748
percentage = 82.3
change = -9.6Election box gain with party link
winner = Independent Progressive
loser = Conservative Party (UK)
swing =

References