title: 1939 Monmouth by-election
text: # 1939 Monmouth by-election
  
  The 1939 Monmouth by-election was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Monmouth in Wales on 25 July 1939.
  
  ## Vacancy
  
  The Conservative MP John Herbert had resigned his seat on 1 July 1939, having been appointed as Governor of Bengal.
  
  ## Previous result
  
  General election 1935: Monmouth :
  
  | Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Conservative | John Herbert | 23,262 | 63.4 | -1.6 |
  | | Labour | Michael Mackintosh Foot | 13,454 | 36.6 | +1.6 |
  | Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,808 | 26.8 | -3.2 |
  | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,716 | 76.8 | +7.4 |
  | Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 47,792 | | |
  | | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -1.6 | |
  
  ## Candidates
  
  The Conservative candidate was 55-year-old Leslie Pym, who had not had previously contested a parliamentary election.
  
  The Labour Party candidate at the 1935 general election had been 22-year-old Michael Foot, who later became Leader of the Labour Party. Foot did not contest the by-election, when the Labour candidate was F.R. Hancock, who had been unsuccessful in Salisbury at the 1929 general election and at a by-election in 1931. He had also been an unsuccessful candidate in Lewes at the 1931 and 1935 general elections. He was also a Quaker and thus opposed to all war.
  
  ## Result
  
  On a slightly reduced turnout, Pym held the seat for the Conservatives, with a reduced but still large majority of 5,815.
  
  1939 Monmouth by-election :
  
  | Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Conservative | Leslie Pym | 17,358 | 60.1 | -3.3 |
  | | Labour | Frank Rivers Hancock | 11,543 | 39.9 | +3.3 |
  | Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,815 | 20.2 | -6.6 |
  | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,901 | 58.2 | -18.6 |
  | Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 49,690 | | |
  | | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -3.3 | |
  
  ## Aftermath
  
  General election July 1945: Monmouth :
  
  | Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Conservative | Leslie Pym | 22,195 | 51.9 | -8.2 |
  | | Labour | A. B. L. Oakley | 20,543 | 48.1 | +8.2 |
  | Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,652 | 3.8 | -16.4 |
  | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,738 | 72.0 | +13.8 |
  | Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 39,359 | | |
  | | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -8.2 | |
  
  Pym was re-elected at the 1945 general election, but died five days later.
  
  