1923 United Kingdom general election explained

Election Name:1923 United Kingdom general election
Country:United Kingdom
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1922 United Kingdom general election
Previous Year:1922
Outgoing Members:List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1922
Next Election:1924 United Kingdom general election
Next Year:1924
Seats For Election:All 615 seats in the House of Commons
Majority Seats:308
Elected Members:List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1923
Election Date:6 December 1923
Turnout:71.1% (1.9 pp)
Leader1:Stanley Baldwin
Leader Since1:23 May 1923
Party1:Conservative Party (UK)
Leaders Seat1:Bewdley
Last Election1:344 seats, 38.5%
Seats1: 258
Seat Change1: 86
Popular Vote1:5,286,159
Percentage1:38.0%
Swing1: 0.5 pp
Leader2:Ramsay MacDonald
Leader Since2:21 November 1922
Party2:Labour Party (UK)
Leaders Seat2:Aberavon
Last Election2:142 seats, 29.7%
Seats2:191
Seat Change2: 49
Popular Vote2:4,267,831
Percentage2:30.7%
Swing2: 1.0 pp
Leader3:H. H. Asquith
Leader Since3:30 April 1908
Party3:Liberal Party (UK)
Leaders Seat3:Paisley
Last Election3:115 seats, 28.8%
Seats3:158
Seat Change3: 43
Popular Vote3:4,129,922
Percentage3:29.7%
Swing3: 0.9 pp
Map Size:380px
Prime Minister
Posttitle:Prime Minister after election
Before Election:Stanley Baldwin
Before Party:Conservative Party (UK)
After Election:Ramsay MacDonald
After Party:Labour Party (UK)
Map2 Image:File:1923 UK GE Westminster diagram.svg
Map2 Caption:Composition of the House of Commons following the 1923 general election

The 1923 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 December 1923.[1] The Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. H. Asquith's reunited Liberal Party gained enough seats to produce a hung parliament. It is the most recent UK general election in which a third party won over 100 seats (158 for the Liberals) and the most narrow gap, of a "mere" 100 seats, between the first and third parties since. The Liberals' percentage of the vote, 29.7%, trailed Labour's by only one percentage point and has not been exceeded by a third party at any general election since.

MacDonald formed the first ever Labour government with tacit support from the Liberals. Rather than trying to bring the Liberals back into government, Asquith's motivation for permitting Labour to enter power was that he hoped they would prove to be incompetent and quickly lose support. Being a minority, MacDonald's government only lasted ten months and another general election was held in October 1924.

Overview

In May 1923, Prime Minister Bonar Law fell ill and resigned on 22 May,[2] after just 209 days in office. He was replaced by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Stanley Baldwin. The Labour Party had also changed leaders since the previous election, after J. R. Clynes was defeated in a leadership challenge by former leader Ramsay MacDonald.

Having won an election just the year before, Baldwin's Conservative Party had a comfortable majority in the House of Commons and could have waited another four years, but the government was concerned and the Conservatives were divided. Baldwin felt the need to receive a mandate from the people, which, if successful, would strengthen his grip on the Conservative Party leadership and allow him to introduce tariff reform and imperial preference as protectionist trade policies over the objections of the free trade elements of his party.

Oxford historian and Conservative MP John Marriott depicts the gloomy national mood:

Parliament was dissolved on 16 November[3] and the result backfired on Baldwin, who lost a host of seats to Labour and the Liberals, resulting in a hung parliament. A reformation of the Conservative-Liberal coalition which had governed the country from 1918 to 1922 was not practical, as Baldwin had alienated both of the two most prominent Liberals, Asquith and David Lloyd George.

Aftermath

Faced with the decision of whether to support a minority Conservative or Labour government on an issue-by-issue basis, Asquith ultimately chose to support the Labour government. This decision was influenced by Lloyd George's faction, which was strongly opposed to collaborating with Baldwin, and the belief amongst the Liberals as a whole that Labour's electoral success was largely due to the previous split within the Liberal Party. Asquith anticipated that a Labour government would reveal Labour's policies as impractical, thereby enabling the Liberals to surpass them in the subsequent election. Consequently, the Liberals joined forces with Labour to defeat Baldwin's King's Speech, leading to the fall of his government and allowing Labour to form its first government.

Results

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Constituency results

Transfers of seats

FromToNo.class=unsortableSeats
1Battersea North
1Motherwell
(HOLD)125Aberdeen North, Ayrshire South, Bishop Auckland, Chester-le-Street, Derby (one of two), Dundee (one of two), Edinburgh Central, Fife West, Govan, Hamilton, Houghton-le-Spring, Workington, Plaistow, Forest of Dean, Burnley, Nelson and Colne, Preston (one of two), Ince, Platting, Westhoughton, Wigan, Salford North, Newton, St Helens, Holland with Boston, Deptford, Woolwich East, Morpeth, Broxtowe, Nottingham West, Kingswinford, Leek, Smethwick, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Hemsworth, Leeds South East, Normanton, Rother Valley, Rothwell, Wentworth, Abertillery, Bedwellty, Ebbw Vale, Pontypool, Caerphilly, Gower, Ogmore, Rhondda East, Rhondda West, Glasgow Gorbals, Manchester Gorton, Cannock, East Ham South, Walthamstow West, Leicester West, Wallsend, Hanley, Bradford East, Don Valley, Aberdare, Silvertown, Midlothian South & Peebles, Derbyshire North East, Spennymoor, Seaham, Consett, Leigh, Whitechapel and St Georges, Wansbeck, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Dunfermline Burghs, Renfrewshire East, Renfrewshire West, Rutherglen, Dumbarton Burghs, Glasgow Bridgeton, Crewe, Clay Cross, Ilkeston, Blaydon, Jarrow, Poplar South, Stepney Limehouse, Pontefract, Sheffield Hillsborough, Sheffield Attercliffe, Sheffield Brightside, Leeds South, Doncaster, Barnsley, Batley and Morley, Colne Valley, Wrexham, Llanelli, Aberavon, Merthyr, Neath, Swansea East, Norfolk North, Clackmannan and Eastern Stirlingshire, Stirlingshire West, Lanarkshire North, Glasgow Maryhill, Glasgow Camlachie, Bothwell†, Coatbridge, Glasgow Springburn, Glasgow Tradeston, Glasgow St. Rollox, Glasgow Shettleston, Linlithgow, Durham, Stratford, Eccles, Farnworth, Manchester Ardwick, Oldham (one of two), Bow and Bromley, Camberwell North, Edmonton, Tottenham North, Newcastle upon Tyne Central, Bradford Central, Pontypridd
12Accrington, Bermondsey West, Burslem, Carnarvonshire, Dewsbury, Elland, Gateshead, Keighley, Newcastle upon Tyne East, Newcastle upon Tyne West, Rochdale, Stirling and Falkirk
2Cathcart, Sedgefield
1Anglesey
1Dundee (one of two)
2Fermanagh and Tyrone (both seats)
1Liverpool Scotland
5Bethnal Green North-East, Derby (one of two), Huddersfield, Leeds West, Mansfield
(HOLD)45Greenock, Paisley, Leith, Edinburgh East, Chesterfield, Kingston upon Hull South West, Lambeth North, Wolverhampton East, Middlesbrough West, Penistone, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, Orkney and Shetland, East Aberdeenshire & Kincardineshire, Galloway, South Molton, South Shields, Spen Valley, Combined Scottish Universities (one of three), Aberdeen and Kincardine Central†, Forfarshire, Fife East, Edinburgh West, Dumfriesshire, Bedfordshire Mid, Birkenhead East, Tavistock, Dorset North, The Hartlepools, Harwich, Isle of Wight, Kingston upon Hull Central, Preston (one of two), Bootle, Horncastle, Bethnal Green South-West, Great Yarmouth, Nottingham Central, Oxford, Taunton, Chippenham, Westbury, Bradford South, Louth, Walsall
7Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine, Penrith and Cockermouth, Belper, Derbyshire West, Worcester, Holderness, Grantham
19Kirkcaldy Burghs, Glasgow Partick, Kilmarnock, Berwick & Haddington, Bristol East, Bristol North, Dartford, Bolton (one of two), Leicester East, Shoreditch, Southwark North, Southwark South East, Norwich (both seats), Northampton, Wellingborough, Lichfield, Shipley, Swansea West
27Caithness and Sutherland
1Cardiganshire
Christian Pacifist1University of Wales
6Moray and Nairn, Kinross and West Perthshire, Romford, Middleton & Prestwich, Sheffield Park, Norfolk South West
2Eye, Cambridge University (one of two)
2Mossley, Harrow
1Halifax
40Dunbartonshire, Lanark, Midlothian & Peebles North, Reading, Birkenhead West, Barnard Castle, Leyton East, East Ham North, Essex SE, Maldon, Upton, Gravesend, Manchester Clayton, Salford South, Salford West, Warrington, Liverpool Edge Hill†, Greenwich, Kennington, Hammersmith North, Finsbury, Hackney South, Islington South, Islington West, Stepney Mile End, Rotherhithe, St Pancras North, St Pancras South East, Norfolk South, Kettering, The Wrekin, Frome, Ipswich, Coventry, Enfield, Tottenham South, Willesden West, Wakefield, Rotherham, Cardiff South
69Perth, Edinburgh North, Luton, Abingdon, Newbury, Aylesbury, Wycombe, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Ely, Altrincham, Stalybridge and Hyde, Wirral, Penryn and Falmouth, St Ives, Barnstaple, Plymouth Devonport, Tiverton, Torquay, Totnes, Chelmsford, Stroud, Thornbury, Basingstoke, Portsmouth Central, Hemel Hempstead, Sevenoaks, Blackpool, Darwen, Lancaster, Lonsdale, Manchester Blackley, Manchester Exchange, Manchester Moss Side, Manchester Rusholme, Manchester Withington, Royton, Liverpool Wavertree, Liverpool West Derby, Southport, Bosworth, Harborough, Leicester South, Gainsborough, Hackney North, Brixton, Islington East, Stoke Newington, King's Lynn, Norfolk East, Hexham, Nottingham East, Shrewsbury, Bath, Bridgwater, Wells, Weston-super-Mare, Sudbury, Chichester, Nuneaton, Rugby, Finchley, Willesden East†, Devizes, Salisbury, Cleveland, Middlesbrough East, Bradford North, Sowerby, Cardiff East
(HOLD)226Cambridge University (one of two), Combined English Universities (one of two), Oxford University (both seats), London University, Combined Scottish Universities (two of three), Aberdeen South, Ayr Burghs, Ayrshire N & Bute, Glasgow Central, Hillhead, Pollok, Kelvingrove, Edinburgh South, Windsor, Buckingham, Cambridge, Chester, Eddisbury, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Northwich, Wallasey, Cumberland North, Westmorland, High Peak, Exeter, Honiton, Plymouth Drake, Plymouth Sutton, Dorset South, Dorset West, Darlington, Sunderland (both seats), Colchester, Epping, Ilford, Leyton West, Southend, Walthamstow E, Bristol Central, Bristol West, Cheltenham, Cirencester and Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Aldershot, Fareham, New Forest & Christchurch, Petersfield, Portsmouth North, Portsmouth South, Winchester, Hereford, Leominster, Bewdley, Dudley, Evesham, Kidderminster, Hitchin, St Albans, Watford, Ealing, Hornsey, Twickenham, Wood Green, Brentford and Chiswick, Hendon, Spelthorne, Uxbridge, Acton, Howdenshire, Kingston upon Hull East, Kingston upon Hull North West, Ashford, Bromley, Canterbury, Chatham, Chislehurst, Dover, Faversham, Gillingham, Hythe, Isle of Thanet, Maidstone, Tonbridge, Barrow-in-Furness, Blackburn (one of two), Chorley, Fylde, Rossendale, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bury, Hulme, E Toxteth, Everton, Liverpool Exchange, Fairfield, Kirkdale, Walton, West Toxteth, Waterloo, Widnes, Melton, Brigg, Grimsby, Lincoln, Rutland and Stamford, Balham and Tooting, Chelsea, Clapham, Dulwich, Fulham East, Hampstead, Holborn, Lewisham East, Lewisham West, Kensington South, Fulham West, Hammersmith South, Islington North, Kensington North, Battersea South, City of London (both seats), Norwood, Paddington North, Paddington South, Putney, St Marylebone, St Pancras South West, Streatham, Wandsworth Central, Westminster Abbey, Woolwich West, Daventry, Peterborough, Newcastle upon Tyne North, Tynemouth, Bassetlaw, Nottingham South, Rushcliffe, Newark, Henley, Ludlow, Oswestry, Yeovil, Burton, Stafford, Stone, Tamworth, Bilston, Wolverhampton West, Bury St Edmunds, Woodbridge, Chertsey, Croydon North, Croydon South, Epsom, Farnham, Guildford, Kingston upon Thames, Mitcham, Reigate, Surrey East, Wimbledon, Brighton (both seats), East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Hastings, Horsham and Worthing, Lewes, Rye, Aston, Deritend, Erdington, King's Norton, Ladywood, Yardley, Sparkbrook, Birmingham West, Edgbaston, Handsworth, Moseley, Warwick and Leamington, Swindon, York, Richmond (Yorks), Scarborough and Whitby, Thirsk and Malton, Barkston Ash, Ripon, Ecclesall, Hallam, Skipton, Leeds North East, Sheffield Central, Monmouth, Llandaff & Barry, Cardiff C, Bournemouth, Hertford, Bedford, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire South, Southampton (both seats), Buckrose, Peckham, Banbury, Lowestoft, Pudsey and Otley, Leeds North, Leeds Central, Newport (Monmouthshire), Bodmin, Saffron Walden, Stourbridge, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Birmingham Duddeston, Stockport (one of two), Clitheroe, Ormskirk, Bolton (one of two)
3Westminster St George's, Richmond (Surrey)*, Dorset East
11Antrim (both seats), Armagh, Belfast East, Belfast North, Belfast South, Belfast West, Down (both seats), Londonderry, Queen's University of Belfast

See also

References

Sources

External links

Manifestos

Notes and References

  1. Morgan. William Thomas. 1924. The British Elections of December, 1923. American Political Science Review. en. 18. 2. 331–340. 10.2307/1943928. 0003-0554. subscription.
  2. Web site: Number10.gov.uk . Andrew Bonar Law . 31 July 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080825210309/http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/prime-ministers-in-history/andrew-bonar-law . 25 August 2008 .
  3. Web site: Parliamentary Election Timetables . 3rd . . 25 March 1997 . 3 July 2022.