INDEPENDENT WINS BRITISH BY-ELECTION

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 42, 19 February 1944, Page 6

INDEPENDENT WINS BRITISH BY-ELECTION

CHURCHILL REBUFF

Surprising Majority Over

Conservative N.Z. Press Association—Copyright Rec. 2.30 p.m. LONDON, Feb. 18. The Independent Labour candidate, Mr. Charles White, won the West Derbyshire by-election by a majority of 4561 votes. The result is a distinct rebuff to the Churchill Government. The final figures were:—White, 16.336: Lord Hartington (Conservative), 11,775; Mr. R. Goodall (Independent Agriculturalist), 233. Mr. Goodall forfeited his deposit. At the 193S by-election Lieuten-ant-Colonel Hunloke (Conservative), whose resignation caused the present by-election, had a 5524 majority over his Labour opponent. The result of this by-election has caused much excitement in the House of Commons lobbies. Members were astonished at the size of Mr. White's majority. The Government made special efforts to retain the seat after its close call in the recent Brighton by-election. Mr. White's return raises the number of Independent members of the House of Commons to 15. The West Derbyshire by-election, The Times points out, is an Independent victory, and repeats the clear warning given other constituencies that it is hard for a candidate to win without a programme. It is not sufficient to put to the electors the sole aim of a military victory. A candidate, with purposes for the future, gains the ear of the public, which is more and more eager to hear of the uses to be made of the victory that all are equally resolute to win. The Kirkcaldy by-election, caused by the resignation of Mr. Tom Kennedv (Labour) resulted:—Mr. T. L. Hubbard (Labour), 8268; Mr. D. C. Young (Scottish Nationalist), 6621; Mr. H. Hilditch (Christian Socialist), 1136. Nominations received to-day for the Bury St. Edmunds by-election were those of Major Keatinge (Con. and Nat. Govt.) and Mrs. Corbett Ashby (Ind. Lib.). Polling will be on February 29. This is the first contest there since 1929. - A London cable on February 14 stated that the West Derbyshire by-election has aroused Interest in view of some suspicion that 26-year-old Lord Hartington, who is a son of the Duke of Devonshire, was "shoe-horned" into becoming a candidate and obtained what some people believed to be remarkably rapid leave from the Army. Mr. Churchill sent Lord Harting ton a letter recalling that his family had been identified with the seat for 300 years. In the Kirkcaldy district at the last general election in 1935 Mr. Tom Kennedy polled 19,457 votes against Mr. Albert Russell, K.C., 15,086.