Hythe by-election, 1939

The Hythe by-election, 1939 was a parliamentary by-election held on 20 July 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of Hythe.

Previous MP

The vacancy was caused by the death of the Conservative MP, Sir Philip Sassoon, 3rd Baronet.

Previous Result

General Election, 14 November 1935^[1] Electorate: 35,205

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Sir Philip Albert Gustave David Sassoon	15,359	63.9
	Liberal	Richard Hathaway Ellis	8,688	36.1
Majority			6,671	27.7
Turnout			24,047	68.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Candidates

• The Conservatives selected a London County Councillor, Rupert Brabner, to defend the seat.
• Hythe was not one of the Liberal Party's better prospects. They drafted a new candidate for the by-election: 33-year-old Frank Darvall, who had been selected as the prospective candidate for the more winnable Dorset East. He had been the Liberal candidate for the Ipswich Division of Suffolk at the 1929 General Election and for the King’s Lynn Division of Norfolk at the 1935 General Election. He was President of the National Union of Students from 1927–29.
• As in the 1935 General Election campaign, the Hythe Labour Party chose not to run a candidate. However, a former Labour party member did contest the election: St John Philby stood as a candidate for the newly formed British People's Party, a right-wing anti-war party that broke away from the British Union of Fascists.

Result

Hythe by-election, 1939^[2] Electorate 35,535

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rupert Arnold Brabner	12,016	54.2	-9.7
	Liberal	Frank Ongley Darvall	9,577	43.2	+7.1
	Independent	Harry St. John Bridger Philby	576	2.6	n/a
Majority			2,439	11.0	-16.8
Turnout				62.4	-5.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.4

• Philby was a candidate for the British People's Party.

Aftermath

Rupert Brabner served as a junior Government Minister. He died on active service with the RNVR early in 1945. Frank Darvall had planned to contest Hythe at a 1939 or 1940 general election, but never stood for Parliament again. St. John Philby also disappeared from the electoral scene along with the British People's Party, which never contested an election again.

General Election, 5 July 1945^[3] Electorate 23,575

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Col. Harry Ripley Mackeson	8,048	46.5	-7.7
	Labour	Lt. David Graham Widdiscombe	6,091	35.2	n/a
	Liberal	Capt. Arthur Dyke Beauchamp James	3,152	18.2	-25.0
Majority			1,957	11.3
Turnout				73.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig
2. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig
3. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig