The 1919 Kingston upon Hull Central by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Kingston upon Hull Central on 29 March 1919. The by-election was the fifth to be held during the 1918-1922 parliament.
Vacancy.
The seat had become vacant when the Coalition Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Sir Mark Sykes died on 16 February 1919 aged 39, a victim of the Spanish flu pandemic. He had held the seat since winning the 1911 Kingston upon Hull Central by-election on 5 July 1911.
Electoral history.
The result at the last general election in 1918 was;
Campaign.
Polling Day was set for 29 March 1919, 41 days after the death of the former MP. Nominations closed to confirm that the election would be a two-way contest.
Percy immediately received the official endorsement of the Coalition Government.
As with the Leyton West by-election 6 weeks earlier, the dominant issue of the campaign was the idea being floated by the Coalition Government of retaining Conscription during peacetime. Kenworthy took a strong line in opposition to continuing conscription. He also argued against the imposition of impossible reparations against Germany. Percy's campaign did little other than express support for the Coalition Government.
Result.
According to reports in "The Times" newspaper, the by-election proved largely uneventful and the parties were expecting a small poll.
In the event there was a turnout of 51% which although on the lower end of the spectrum for by-elections of the day, was not the lowest experienced during the 1918–1922 Parliament. Popular opinion was swinging against the coalition government of David Lloyd George and Bonar Law and particularly against the Conservative half of the coalition. As a result, the Liberal candidate, Joseph Kenworthy, gained the seat for his party with a majority of 917 over his Coalition Conservative opponent, Lord Eustace Percy.
British Pathe has newsreel footage of Joseph Kenworthy taken after his election victory.
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Aftermath.
Kenworthy went on to hold the seat for the Liberals at the subsequent general election. The result at the following general election in 1922 was;
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 130px"|Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em"|Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em"|Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"|%
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! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" | Majority
! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" scope=row | Turnout
! style="text-align:right;" | Swing
Percy was to find electoral success elsewhere and go on to sit in the Conservative Cabinet of Stanley Baldwin.
The proposal for retaining Conscription during peacetime was quickly dropped.
References.
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