The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting UnionistMP, Sir Fredric Wise at the age of 57 on 27 January 1928 following a sudden heart attack. He had been MP here since winning the 1920 Ilford by-election.
Election History
The constituency was created for the 1918 general election and had been won by Unionists at every election. The Unionists did not come close to losing the seat as the progressive vote had remained evenly split between Liberal and Labour. The result at the last General Election was
Since John Morris stood down in November 1925, the local Liberals had been without a prospective candidate. On 3 February 1928, the Ilford Liberal Association adopted 45-year-old Arthur Comyns Carr as their candidate to challenge for the seat. He was the prospective candidate for neighbouring Romford. He first stood for election in 1918 in St Pancras South West against a Conservative opponent who had received the Coalition Coupon and fought the same seat again in 1922. At the 1923 general election he won Islington East turning a Unionist majority of nearly 4,000 into a Liberal majority of 1,632 but he lost the seat at the general election of 1924. He was the son of J. Comyns Carr, a dramatist and art critic. His mother, Alice Laura Strettell was a novelist.
There were rumours of a fourth candidate, E.A. Hailwood. He had fought the 1927 Southend by-election, the 1928 Faversham by-election and the 1928 Northampton by-election as an Independent Unionist in quick succession. Hailwood had been critical of Stanley Baldwin the Prime Minister. However, at his last outing, he had been threatened with violence by Unionist Party members which may have influenced his non-participation here. When nominations closed on 15 February, it was to reveal a three-cornered contest between the three main parties.
Campaign
Polling Day was set for 23 February 1928, just 27 days after the death of the former Member of Parliament, allowing for a short campaign. This would have assisted the Labour candidate de Gruchy, as unlike the other two candidates who had only just been selected, he had been in place for 12 months. On 7 February, the King's Speech was read out in parliament, which provided a focus for the issues of the campaign. All three party leaders, Baldwin, Ramsay MacDonald and David Lloyd George sent public letters of support to their own candidates. On 15 February, the former Prime Minister and Liberal Leader H. H. Asquith died.
Result
The Unionists held the seat, but there was a massive 13.6% swing to the Liberals. The Labour vote share remained the same but the party fell to third place.
Aftermath
Hamilton held the seat, defeating Comyns Carr again at the following General Election. The Liberal further reduced the Unionist majority by half;
