By—Elections in Parliamentary Careers, 1918-1959

Abstract

IFTY-TWO BY-ELECTIONS were held after the general election of May 1955 and before the October 1959 general election.1 One hundred and thirty-six candidates contested, two appeared in two by-elections: thirtyone of them lost and did not appear in the 1959 general election. Thirteen of these losers had no previous record this was their first, and so far their only candidacy. Three were Labour candidates, four were Liberals, two were Conservatives, and the remaining four stood under various party designations. Eighteen losers had previous records. For twelve this was their second defeat, for four their third loss, and for one it was his fourth unsuccessful attempt. One of the eighteen had been elected once, had failed to contest in 1955, and thus suffered his first defeat in a 1956 by-election. Party affiliations were: Labour, eight; Conservatives, five; Liberals, two; and others, three. The remaining 105 contestants 56 with previous records and 49 who appeared for the first time in these by-elections reappeared as candidates in the 1959 general election. The experienced candidates showed quite a range of previous wins and losses, from once elected and once defeated to twice elected and six times defeated, seven times elected and six times defeated, and other combinations. Four had first been candidates in 1929; 24 between 1945 and 1951; and 28 in 1955. What happened to both beginners and old hands can be shown conveniently in a table. TABLE I