You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
alternatehistory.com
This is a reboot of my previous TLs of this that I didn't like and never got the opportunity to edit. I hope you like this, it's more detailed on all the minor going ons and I've researched much more for it now.
“A Great Third Party” – A British Political TL
It could be argued that the first true political fascist to gain a seat in the House of Commons was in fact the well-known Henry Beamish. A devout anti-semite, he stood against two other candidates whom included the Conservative candidate Harry Greer and the independent Edward Backhouse. The latter was a renowned member of the ‘Peace by Negotiation Party’, and had previously tried to win the seat of Stockton-on-Tees, though his pro-peace attitude had been given a hostile reception. Henry Beamish seemed to jump on the opportunity to scorn Backhouse, and hostile crowds broke up Backhouses meetings numerous times. It has been speculated that due to a pro-peace candidate standing in Clapham, Henry Beamish gathered more votes due to his extreme anti-German views. In the end Henry Beamish had won 47% of the vote, compared to Harry Greer whom gathered 43% of the vote. The pro-peace candidate came third on a minor 1% of the vote. Andrew Bonar Law believed that the constituency could be won back though in the general election later in the year, though when it came to it, Henry Beamish came back to the Commons with 52% of the vote, and increase by 5%, disallowing Sir Arthur du Cros back into politics.
Beamish became well known in the House of Commons for being an ultra-Nationalist and for generally stirring up trouble among members to the point at which such language was used that he was forced out of the house numerous times. He was notorious for debating heavily with Zionists, especially Alfred Mond (a liberal).
History of British Fascism, 1918 – 1939: T. P. Linehan
In the election of 1918 the various main parties were very split, though the Coalition Conservatives under Andrew Bonar Law gained the most amount of seats, while the Coalition Liberals were the only other party to gain seats in the triple-digits. Though there are a few other parties and certain independents that should not be forgotten about in this ‘coupon’ election. For example, the National Party under Henry Croft put up 26 candidates, of which 12 managed to win seats, another 4 managed to split the Conservative vote to allow an independent, two Labour and one Liberal MP into the Commons. The National Party was a mildly xenophobic, right wing, nationalistic party that advocated tariff-reform.
Another party (or individual really) was Christabel Pankhurst who won the seat of Smethwick for the Women’s Party, a political suffragette movement. She managed to beat two candidates, a labour candidate and an independent labour candidate. Their vote split and thus allowed Pankhurst to win a seat in the Commons. She was the first female MP in Parliament, and this was shown to be a huge success for the suffragette movement.
Another notable individual to in fact regain their seat in Parliament was Horatio Bottomley. He had previously been a Liberal MP until he was sent to jail for fraud charges, though he ran in 1918 as an independent candidate. He beat his Coalition Liberal opponent by around eight and a half thousand votes, and thus the extremely patriotic politician paved his way back into the Commons.
The National Party and other Minor Political Parties in early 20th century British Politics: J. M. Hazlett
In the Parliament between 1918 and 1922 there were, as per usual, numerous by-elections held. Though during this period, one political party was created that stood out and that actually managed to win four seats in Parliament. This was the ‘Anti-Waste League’, created by Lord Rothermere in retaliation to what was seen as government over-spending. Though throughout its lifetime it also became increasingly anti-Communist and a more patriotic party.
Another minor group was the ‘Independent Parliamentary Group’, which was created by Horatio Bottomley, MP for Hackney South as an independent. Numerous MPs joined the group, and it supported several parliamentary candidates. The most successful candidate was Murray Sueter, who joined the Anti-Waste League though stayed on as a member of the group. Also another candidate supported by the ‘IPG’ was John Nicholson, who was beaten by Reginald Applin, an Anti-Waste League candidate.
Another interesting by-election event was that the National Party, whom still had 12 MPs in Parliament, only stood one candidate. This was in 1922, in the Cambridge by-election, when Eric Geddes resigned due to criticism as Transport Minister. In this by-election an extreme patriot, George Makgill (secretary for the British Empire Union group) stood as a National Party candidate against a Coalition Conservative candidate, a Labour candidate and a Liberal candidate. Makgill came first by just 100 votes, beating Sir George Newton. George Makgill would go on to keep this seat even after the next election that was coming very soon.
The Importance of By-Elections Between Elections: H. L. Lawd