Dover by-election, 1921

The Dover by-election of 1921 was held on 12 January 1921. The by-election was held due to the succession to the peerage of the incumbent Coalition Conservative MP, Vere Ponsonby as Ninth Earl of Bessborough. It was won by the Independent candidate Thomas Andrew Polson.^[1]

Polson's election was supported by Horatio Bottomley, but although claimed by Bottonmley as a member of the right-wing Independent Parliamentary Group, he joined the Anti-Waste League shortly after his election. Polson stood again at the general election in November 1922, but was defeated by the Conservative candidate John Jacob Astor, whom he had defeated at the by-election in 1921.^[2]

Result

Dover by-election, 1921

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent Parliamentary Group	Thomas Andrew Polson	13,947	56.3	N/A
	Conservative	John Jacob Astor	10,817	43.7
Majority			3,130	12.6
Turnout			24,764
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

References

1. http://www.leighrayment.com/commons.htm
2. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 384. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.