St Ives by-election, 1928

The St Ives by-election, 1928 was a by-election held on 6 March 1928 for the British House of Commons constituency of St Ives in Cornwall.

The by-election was caused by the resignation of the sitting Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) Anthony Hawke on his appointment to be a High Court judge.

Hawke had first won the seat at the 1922 general election. He lost it to the Liberal candidate Sir Clifford Cory at the 1923 general election when there was also a Labour candidate in the field but won it back from Cory in a straight fight in 1924.

The by-election was a three-cornered contest, though given the electoral history of the seat it was always regarded as a two-horse race between Conservative and Liberal.

The circumstances in which Mrs Runciman came to be selected as Liberal candidate were an issue in the by-election. Her husband, Walter Runciman who was Liberal MP for Swansea West had decided to transfer from Swansea to St Ives at the next general election. When the by-election was caused by Hawke’s resignation, Mrs Runciman was adopted as Liberal candidate to keep the seat warm for her husband. This attracted Tory derision. Apparently Liberal party leader David Lloyd George did not approve of Mrs Runciman’s candidacy and he sent no message of support for her during the by-election. However, Deputy Leader Sir Herbert Samuel did travel to the constituency to speak on her behalf.

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