Leeds Central by-election, 1923

The Leeds Central by-election, 1923 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Leeds Central on 26 July 1923.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting Unionist MP, Arthur Wellesley Willey on 2 July 1923. He had been MP here since winning the seat in 1922.

Electoral history

Willey had gained the seat from the Liberals at the previous general election;

General Election 1922  : Leeds Central^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Arthur Wellesley Willey	14,137	50.0	n/a
	Labour	Henry Herman Slesser	7,844	27.8	n/a
	Liberal	Robert Armitage	6,260	22.2	-48.4
Majority			6,293	22.2
Turnout				66.1	+28.7
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

Result

The Unionists held the seat. The Liberal share was halved with the Labour party picking up that former Liberal vote.

Leeds Central by-election, 1923^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Sir Charles Henry Wilson	13,085	47.6	-2.4
	Labour	Henry Herman Slesser	11,359	41.4	+13.6
	Liberal	Gilbert Stone	3,026	11.0	-11.2
Majority			1,726	6.2	-16.0
Turnout				64.3	-1.8
	Unionist hold		Swing	-8.0

Aftermath

The result at the following General election;

General Election 1923: Leeds Central^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Sir Charles Henry Wilson	14,853	56.2
	Labour	Henry Herman Slesser	11,574	43.8
Majority			3,279	12.4
Turnout				60.1
	Unionist hold		Swing

References

1. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
2. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
3. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig