On Thursday 6 December 1923, the 1923 United Kingdom general election was held in England, to elect all 615 members of the House of Commons, with 492 constituencies being in England. 485 seats represented territorial constituencies contested under the first past the post electoral system, and seven additional seats represented the university constituencies. Three university constituencies returned two members through the single transferable vote electoral system and one returned one member by the first past the post system.

The election led to an overall drop in seats for the Conservative Party, with the Liberal Party and Labor taking seats across the United Kingdom. The election saw the formation of the first Labour Government under Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, with the support of the reunited Liberal Party under H. H. Asquith; however, the Labour Government would only survive a year, owing to a vote of confidence the following year.

Candidates

Below is a table summarising the candidates of the 1923 general election in England, excluding those in the university constituencies.

Affiliation CandidatesConservative Party 444Liberal Party 362Labour Party 343Co-operative Party 7Independent 4Nationalist Party 2Constitutionalist 1Independent Conservative 1Independent Labour 1Free Trade 1Total 1,166

Analysis

Conservatives and Labour

The Labour Party overall gained 43 seats in England, the vast majority of its overall 47 seat gain nationally, taking a several seats from both the Conservatives and reunited Liberals. The Co-operative Party under the Labour Whip won a total of four seats (an increase of one compared to the last election), Samuel Perry, regaining Kettering (the party's first seat in 1918) for the party, following the party's loss in the previous election. The party otherwise retained East Ham South, Sheffield Hillsborough and Tottenham North. Although Labour did not gain the greatest number of seats in England or indeed nationally, Leader of the Labour Party Ramsay MacDonald would become Prime Minister with the support of the Liberal Party, forming the first Labour Government; however, the instability and several controversies leading to a vote of confidence brought another election the following year.

The Conservatives under new leader Stanley Baldwin lost a total of 85 seats at the election overall, losing 109 in the county and borough constituencies but gaining 17, along with gaining a seat among the seven available in the university constituencies. Notably, the Conservatives gained Sedgefield from Labour by only six votes. Edward Cavendish took the seat of West Derbyshire, and would hold it until 1938. Future Minister Victor Warrender gained Grantham, holding the seat until 1942.

Amongst the other gains in England for the Conservatives were Eye, Penrith and Cockermouth, Belper, Middleton and Prestwich, Worcester, Holderness and Grantham, Romford, Sheffield Park, South West Norfolk from the reunited Liberal Party.

Reunited Liberal Party

David Lloyd George's National Liberal Party had reunited with the Liberal Party under H. H. Asquith since the last election, and the party managed to gain a net of 48 seats in England. Combined with the loss of five seats in Scotland, and no change in Wales, the party gained an overall 43 seats nationally.

The party took 69 seats from the Conservatives, along with several gains from the Labour Party. Amongst these gains was the Liberal win in Battersea North wherein the party took the seat from Labour Member of Parliament (and Communist Party member) Shapurji Saklatvala. The Liberals made several other gains from Labour, including the urban and semi-urban seats of Accrington, Bermondsey West, Burslem, Dewsbury, Elland, Gateshead, Keighley, Newcastle upon Tyne East and Rochdale from the Labour Party. In Newcastle upon Tyen East, the Liberals took the seat from former Leader of the Labour Party Arthur Henderson who had retained the seat in the 1923 Newcastle-upon-Tyne East by-election for Labour in the by-election. As such, it was a gain from Labour in comparison to 1922.

However, the party also lost the central urban seats of Bristol East, Bristol North, Leicester East, Northampton, Wellingborough, Lichfield and Shipley. Additionally, it lost Shoreditch, Southwark North and Southwark South East in the County of London. These were losses to the Labour Party. It also lost one of the two seats in both Bolton and Norwich to Labour. Winston Churchill, who was still a member of the reunited Liberal Party after having rejoined with the Liberal National Party, unsuccessfully contested the Labour-held seat of Leicester West, after having been unseated in Scotland at the last election.

Minor parties and independents

Independent Oswald Mosley held Harrow with a reduced majority, with Austin Hopkinson holding Mossley also with a reduced majority. Feminist Ray Strachey contested Brentford and Chiswick for a second time but was again unsuccessful. However, George Roberts, who had moved from being Coalition Labour to an independent in the last election, lost his seat in Norwich standing as a candidate for the Conservative Party. The loss of Norwich was a gain for Labour, with the party also having taking the other of the two seats in Norwich from the Liberals. The independent seats in England and nationally were consequently reduced to two at this election.

In comparison to the last election, the number of Independent Conservative MPs was reduced to no seats in England and the United Kingdom due to such Members of Parliament joining the Conservative Party following the previous election, with far fewer of such candidates in England. James Erskine, who had won as an Independent Conservative in the last election, retained Westminster St George's unopposed, though did so as the official Conservative Party candidate for the seat. Similarly, Harry Becker, who had won Richmond (Surrey) as an Independent Conservative under the sponsorship of the Anti-Waste League in the last election, retained the seat also as the official Conservative candidate in this election. Gordon Hall Caine in East Dorset, a former Independent Conservative MP, had also taken the Conservative Whip by 1923, and retained the seat as a Conservative. As such, these were Conservative seat gains from initially being held by Conservative Independents.

The Conservative Party also gained a seat in the university constituencies. In Cambridge University, Conservative candidate John Rawlinson retaining his seat, with Conservative Geoffrey G. Butler taking the second seat after winning the second round of voting. As such, incumbent Independent Liberal J. R. M. Butler lost in the second round. The Conservatives therefore held six of the seven seats among the universities, with all other seats in the university constituencies remaining unchanged.

Seat summary

Below is a table summarising the total number of seats, gains and losses for each party in both the territorial county and borough constituencies and the English university constituencies.

+PartySeats Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%)   Conservative 227 17 102 85 56.3   Labour (Total) 138 55 12 43 28.0 134 54 12 42 27.2 4 1 0 1 0.8   Liberal 124 76 28 48 25.2   Independent 2 0 1 1 0.4   Irish Nationalist 1 0 0 0.2   Ind. Conservative 0 0 3 3 —   Constitutionalist 0 0 1 1 —   Independent Liberal 0 0 1 1 — Total 492

County and borough constituency results

Below is a table summarising the constituency results of the 1923 general election in England, excluding the result in the university constituencies.

+PartySeatsAggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Difference   Conservative 221 16 102 86 55.9 4,732,176 39.8 1.7   Labour (Total) 138 55 12 43 28.5 3,549,888 29.7 0.9 134 54 12 42 27.7 3,471,125 29.0 1.0 4 1 0 1 0.8 78,763 0.7 0.1   Liberal 123 76 28 48 25.4 3,572,355 29.9 2.7   Independent 2 0 1 1 0.4 31,282 0.3 0.7   Constitutionalist 0 0 1 1 — 15,500 0.1   Irish Nationalist 1 0 0 0.2 10,322 0.1   Ind. Conservative 0 0 3 3 — 9,772 0.1 0.8   Independent Labour 0 0 0 — 5,176 0.0   Free Trade 0 colspan="3" — 634 0.0 Total 485 0 100.0 11,927,085 100.0 0.0 Registered voters, and turnout 17,079,822 71.1 1.7

University constituency results

University results summary

Below is a table summarising the seats and vote share of the English university constituencies in the 1923 general election.

+PartySeatsFirst preference votes Total Gains Losses Net Total Of all (%) 6 1 0 1 18,565 61.1 1 0 0 6,277 20.7 0 0 1 1 3,248 10.7 0 0 0 2,270 7.5 Total 7 30,360

Cambridge University

The constituency for Cambridge University returned two Members of Parliament using the single transferable vote electoral system. The electorate consisted of graduates of the university.

Combined English Universities

The Combined English Universities constituency, which represented effectively all red brick universities and Durham University, returned two Members of Parliament using the single transferable vote electoral system. The electorate consisted of graduates of the university.

London University

The constituency for London University returned one Member of Parliament using the First-past-the-post electoral system. The electorate consisted of graduates of the university.

Oxford University

The constituency for Oxford University returned two Members of Parliament using the single transferable vote electoral system. The electorate consisted of graduates of the university.

See also 1923 United Kingdom general election in Scotland 1923 United Kingdom general election in Wales 1923 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

Notes

References