BRITISH ELECTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18577, 8 December 1923, Page 11

BRITISH ELECTIONS.

HEAVY CONSERVATIVE LOSSES.

MAJORITY EXTINGUISHED.

ONE MINISTER NOT RETURNED.

LABOUR GAINS 22 ; LIBERAL J9.

The earlier returns of the general election in Britain reveal heavy losses by the Conservative Party. The net result is that the party has lost -11 seats, while the Labour Party has gained 22, and the Liberal Party IP. As (he loss of 39 scats would extinguish the Conservative majority si tho dissolution, it appears that the party will at most be the strongest in the new Parliament, but opposed by a majority comprising the other parties. Conservatives who have retained their seats have in many cases suffered substantial reduction of their majorities, in comparison with the last election. So far as the fiscal issue is concerned, it would appear"that the election is likely to be decisive, since there is no practical possibility of the Conservative Party recovering a working majority from the later returns. Beyond that, the present prospect implies a condition of political confusion. The last election, on November 15, 1922, resulted in the Conservative Party gaining a majority over all other parties of 77. That was the position at the dissolution, though various by-elections and the transfer by two members of their allegiance to Mr. Baldwin had caused minor changes in the strength of parties. Approximately, the position was as follows : —Conservatives, 346 Labour, 143 Liberals, US; Independents, 8. Two seats, previously held by Conservatives, Glasgow Central and Warwick and Leamington, were vacant at the dissolution.

SURVEY GF RESULTS.

CONSERVATIVE REVERSES.

LOSSES IN THE NORTH.

"MR. ASQUITH RE-ELECTED.

• DEFEAT OF MR, HENDERSON.

Br Telesiaph—Press Association— Copjri^bt. (Koccived 9.3 p.m.) A. and N.Z. LONDON, Dec. 7. The latest election returns, giving 264 results out. of the total of 615, show the position of the parties as follows: — Conservatives - * ► • HI Labour « «■ • « • • Libera • * »« " Independents -» ►» 5 The gains and losses of the parties are: — Conservatives, net loss, 41. Liberals, net gain, 19. Labour, net gain, 22. As the Conservatives are unlikely to gain any seats in the Home Counties, and as they will probably lose a few seats in Scotland, it seems that Mr. Baldwin'smajority is gone, and that none of the three parties will be able to carry on alone. The results show that the boroughs in the North of England are more Free Trade than ever, and Manchester in particular still clings to Cobdenism. The following table shows the change in the representation of Manchester and Liverpool: — MANCHESTER. 1923. 1922. Conservatives * * 1 7 Liberals w * «* 5 0 Labour • » * a 4 3 LIVERPOOL. 1923. 1922. Conservatives . u »• 8 10 Liberals v * k • 2 0 Inde pendent ► * «i. 1 1 The only Minister who has been defeated so far is Sir Montagu Barlow, Minister for Labour. Mr. H. H. Asquith was re-elected at Paisley. Mr. Arthur Henderson (Labour) was defeated at Newcastle-upon-Tyne by "a Liberal. Sir R. Aske. but both Mr. Henderson's sons were elected. Lady Astor (Conservative) was reelected at Plymouth. A new woman member elected is Miss Susan Lawrence (Labour), who gained East Ham North in a triangular contest. Mr. C. P. Trevelyan (Labour) was elected at Central division, defeating Mr. F. Mi B. Fisher (Conservative). Mr. Percy Harris (Liberal(, also formerly of New Zealand, was re-elected at Bethnall Green, Southwest. Colonel John Ward (Independent) was re-elected at Stoke-upon-Trent. Mr. D. Korkwood (Labour) was reelected for Dumbarton. Among the Ministers re-elected are, Sir Samuel Hoare, Minister for Air, Chelsea; Sir T. W. H. Inskip, Solicitor-General, Bristol Central; Sir Douglas Hogg, At-torney-Genera!, St. Marylebone; Sir W. Joynson Hicks, Financial Secretary of the Treasury, Twickenham; and Sir P. Lloyd Greame, President of the Board of Trade, Hen don. The Labour leaders, Mr. J. H. Thomas, Derby, and Mr. J. R. Clynes, Platting Division, Manchester, were re-elected. Mr. C. G. .Amnion (Labour) was reelected for Camberwell North, handsomely defeating Dame Helen Gwynne Vaughan (Conservative). Sir Harry Brittain (Conservative) was re-elected for Acton. Middlesex. Mr. E. Scrymgeour (Prohibitionist) and Mr. E, D. Morel (Labour) were reflected for Dundee. Mr. W. J. Tout (Labour) and Sir Edward Grieg (Liberal) were re-elected for' Oldham. Dr. T. .T. Macnarnara (Liberal) was reelected for North-West Camberwell, defeating the Labour candidate after a recount. Liberal Gains, The. following are among (he seats gained by Liberals MANCHESTER. Moss Side Division. T. K. Ackrovd (Lib.) . . 12.210 G. B. Hurst (Cons.) . . 9097 (1922, Hurst 11,932; Ackrovd, 6743). Russholmo Division. C. F. G. Masterman (Lib.) 10,901 J. H. Thorpe (Cons.) . . 8876 Paul (Lab.) . . . . 5366 (1922, Thorpe 11,765; Sutton, Lib., 6421; Wood, Lab., 6397).

Blackley Division. P. M. Oliver (Lib.) .. 12,235 W. J. H. Briggs (Cons. Free Trader) . . . . 6313 (1922, Briggs 902.3; Oliver, 6219 j Townsend, Lab., 5580). Exchange Division. Barclay (Lib.) . . . . 12,248 Sir E. E. Stockton (Cons. Free Trader) . . 10,449 (1922, Stockton 13,919; Barton, Lib., 10,148)., BATH. Rafferty (Lib.) . . . , 13,694 C. T. Foxcroft (Cons.) 12,830 (1922, Foxcroft. 13,666 Spender, Lib., £699; Elvin, Lab., 4849). A CCRI N GTO N. Edwards (Lib.) „ „ 19,981 C. R. Buxton (Lab.) 16,793 (1922, Buxton 16,462 Gray, Cons., 11,408; Baker, Lib., 9395). Liberals also gained from Conservatives the Wavertree and West Derby divisions of Liverpool. The defeated Conservatives were Sir H. Smith, K.C., brother of the Earl of Birkenhead, who had a majority of over 3000 against a Labour candidate at Wavertree at the last election, and Rear-AdmiralijSir R. Hal], whoso majority at West Derby at the last election, also against a Labour candidate, was over 9000. A Liberal gain from Labour was the Keighley division, West Yorkshire, where j Mr. Piikington, a Western Australian, de- ! feated Mr. H. B. Lees Smith, the late sitting member. Mr. Hozbin (Liberal) gained Battersea North from the Parse© Communist. Mr. Saklatvala.. Labour Gains. The following are among the seats gained by Labour ;— WAKEFIELD. Sherwood (Lab.) „ „ 7966 R. G. Ellis (Cons.) ... 7345 Lassen (Lib.) . . . k 4640 (1922, Ellis 10,416; Bellamy, Lab., 9798). SALFORD. South Division. Toole (Lab.) . „ . . 12,097 Sir M. Barlow (Cons.) . . 9366 ' Jones (Lib.) ... .. 4851 (1922, Sir M. Barlow -was unopposed.) The Sutton division of Manchester and Warrington were gained for Labour from the Conservatives and the Liberals respectively by Mr. Sutton and Mr. Dukes. Labour also gained the West Swansea seat, defeating Sir Alfred Mond (Labour). Defeat of Mi. Churchill. Mr. Winston Churchill, the Liberal candidate for West Leicester, was defeated by Mr. Pethick Lawrence (Labour), the author of the capital levy scheme. The polling was:. — P. Lawrence (Lab.) .. 13,624 W. Churchill (Lib.) .. 9236 Johnstone (Cons.) . . 7696 At the general election in 1922 the seat was won by A. Hill (Lab.), 12,929, against? J. F. Green (Nat. Lib.), 8137, and G. E. Spere (Lib.), 7631. Mr. Churchill's defeat was known in London at midnight and caused an immense sensation in Trafalagar Square, and theatres, restaurants and other places, where the results were announced by wireless. Mr. Ben Tillett Elected. Among other interesting contests were the following— SALFORD. North Division. Ben Tillett (Lab.) . . .. 13,377 Finburg (Cons. Free Trader). . 12,810 (1922.—Tillett. 11.368 : Finburg, 11.349; Jolly, Lib., 4660. YARMOUTH, GREAT. A. Harbord (Lib.) . . . . 11,116 Sir A. Home (Cons.) .» . . 8,492 Wrigley (Lab.) 2,138 (1922. —Harbord. 9836; Crookshank, Cons., 8917; Whiting, Lab., 2574.) Two Conservative Gains. The Conservatives gained the Middleton and Prestwich division of Lancashire and the Park division of Sheffield from Liberals Where Conservatives held their seats there was a large turnover ,>{ votes, notably in the following divisions —- LIVERPOOL. Exchange 1)i vi:i» * Sir Leslie Scott (Cons.) , .. 10,55.1 Grogan (Irish Jnd.) . . . , 10,3;.2 (1922.—-Soot t, 15,650; I-'-.'iin, L-ish* Nat., 12,614.) ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE. ' Sir W. de Frece (Cons.) . . 7813 Greenwood (Lib.) .. . . 7574 Miss Wilkinson (Comm.) . . 6208 (1922. —De Frece, 12.006; Gillinder, Lab., 8834.) At Cheltenham Sir J. Agg-Gardner (Cons.), who entered Parliament under Disraeli, was elected with a greatly reduced majority.