1921 Louth by-election

The 1921 Louth by-election was a by-election held on 22 September 1921 for the British House of Commons constituency of Louth in Lincolnshire.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant following the death of the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Thomas Wintringham on 8 August 1921. He had been elected at the by-election in 1920.

Electoral history

The result at the last election was;

T. Wintringham

1920 Louth by-election^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Wintringham	9,859	57.3	+11.8
C	Unionist	Christopher Hatton Turnor	7,354	42.7	−11.8
Majority			2,505	14.6	N/A
Turnout			17,213	63.1	+2.8
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+11.8
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Candidates

The Liberals selected 41-year-old Margaret Wintringham, widow of the former MP, as their candidate to defend the seat. She worked as a teacher, before becoming headmistress of a school in Grimsby. She became a magistrate and a member of the Grimsby Education Committee. She was involved in many political movements, including the National Union of Women Workers, the British Temperance Association, the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship (NUSEC), the Women's Institute and the Townswomen's Guild. She was standing for parliament for the first time.
On 17 August, the Unionists selected 41-year-old Sir Alan Hutchings as their candidate to challenge for the seat. He was Secretary of the Department of the Director-General of Voluntary Organisations (War Office) from 1915 to 1919.^[2] He was standing for parliament for the first time.
The Labour Party selected Lt. James George of Peterborough as their candidate to challenge for the seat.^[3] He was standing for parliament for the first time.

Campaign

Polling Day was set for 22 September 1921, 45 days after the death of the former MP, allowing for a long campaign. Despite rumours the contrary, on 13 September nominations closed to confirm that the election would be a three-way contest.^[4]

Hutchings received the official endorsement of the Coalition Government.

Result

Wintringham held the seat that her husband had gained for the Liberals in a by-election the year before.

Mrs. Wintringham

**1921 Louth by-election**^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Margaret Wintringham	8,386	42.2	−15.1
	Unionist	Alan Hutchings	7,695	38.3	−4.4
	Labour	James L. George	3,873	19.5	New
Majority			791	3.9	−10.7
Turnout			19,954	72.1	+9.0
	Liberal hold		Swing

Wintringham become only the second woman to take her seat in the House of Commons, and the first female Liberal MP.

Aftermath

Wintringham was re-elected at the 1922 general election:

1922 general election^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Margaret Wintringham	11,609	52.0	+6.5
	Unionist	Alan Hutchings	10,726	48.0	−6.5
Majority			883	4.0	−5.0
Turnout			22,335	78.5	+18.2
	Liberal hold		Swing

References

^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
^ ‘HUTCHINGS, Sir Alan’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, November 2012 accessed 4 Jan 2014
^ Grantham Journal, 27 August 1921
^ Grantham Journal, 17 September 1921
^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig

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 Historical List of MPs

[1] British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig

[2] ‘HUTCHINGS, Sir Alan’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, November 2012 accessed 4 Jan 2014

[3] Grantham Journal, 27 August 1921

[4] Grantham Journal, 17 September 1921

[5] British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig

[6] British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig

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