British By-Elections Between the Wars

Abstract

The electoral system of Britain provides students of representative government and observers of voting behavior with a large and valuable field of investigation. The Mother of Parliaments has been elected on a democratic basis since 1918, and the constituency pattern which was rearranged after the first World War has continued down to the present time. The party picture too, although constantly changing, has not been altered fundamentally during the period. We have therefore an interesting and satisfactory span of time between the two world wars in which to examine the various aspects of British electoral institutions and behavior.