1916 Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election

The Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election of 1916 was held on 16 August 1916. The by-election was held due to the elevation to the peerage of the incumbent Liberal MP, Sir Edward Grey.

It was won by the Liberal candidate Sir Francis Blake.[1] Blake was unopposed by Conservative or Labour candidates due to a war time electoral truce where the three main parties would not put up candidates against one another. This meant that Blake was sometimes referred to as a "Coalitionist".[2] The unsuccessful candidate, Dr Arthur Turnbull, stood as an Independent, though one source has described him as an Independent Liberal.[3]

Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election, 1916[4] Electorate 9,454

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Blake	3,794	85.9
	Independent	Arthur Turnbull	621	14.1
Majority			3,173	71.8
Turnout			4,215	46.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

References

1. "House of Commons". leighrayment.com. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
2. "Papers Past — Dominion — 19 August 1916 — BERWICK BY-ELECTION". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
3. "19 Aug 1916 - BERWICK BY-ELECTION. London, Aug. 17". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
4. British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 by FWS Craig