1939 Colne Valley by-election

The 1939 Colne Valley by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 27 July 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of Colne Valley.

Previous MP

Ernest Marklew, who had been a Councillor in Grimsby, was first elected as MP for Colne Valley in 1935 when he gained the seat from the Liberal party. He died on 14 June 1939, forcing a by-election on the Labour party.

Previous Result

General election, 14 November 1935

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ernest Marklew	16,725	42.3
	Liberal	Lance Mallalieu	12,946	30.6
	Conservative	M.G. Crofton	10,917	25.8
	Independent	W.G. Bagnall	1,754	4.1
Majority			3,779	11.7	N/A
Turnout			40,588
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

Candidates

The Labour party selected 52-year-old Glenvil Hall to defend the seat. He had been Labour MP for Portsmouth Central from 1929 to 1931. The Liberal party selected 34-year-old Lance Mallalieu to fight the seat. He had been the MP for the seat from 1931 until defeated by Marklew at the last General Election in 1935. The Conservative party selected 41-year-old Cecil Pike as their new candidate. He had been Conservative MP for Sheffield Attercliffe from 1931 to 1935.

Result

Colne Valley by-election, 1939

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Glenvil Hall	17,277	48.6	+6.3
	Liberal	Lance Mallalieu	9,228	26.0	−4.6
	Conservative	Cecil Frederick Pike	9,012	25.4	−0.4
Majority			8,049	22.6	+10.9
Turnout			35,517
	Labour hold		Swing

Aftermath

Hall continued as MP for Colne Valley until his death in 1962. He served as Financial Secretary to the Treasury in the 1945-50 Labour government. Mallalieu left the Liberal party for Labour before being elected Labour MP for Brigg in 1948. Pike did not contest another election.

General election, 5 July 1945

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Glenvil Hall	23,488	54.7
	Conservative	S. Smith	11,593	27.0
	Liberal	G. K. Lawrence	7,890	18.3
Majority			11,895	27.7
Turnout			42,971
	Labour hold		Swing

References

• British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1979)