William Bennett (English politician)

William Bennett (7 April 1873 – 4 November 1937)^[1] was a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Battersea South in London from 1929 to 1931.

He first stood for Parliament at the 1918 general election, when he was unsuccessful in Guildford,^[2] a safe seat for the Conservative Party. He contested Guildford again in 1922 and 1923,^[2] and did not stand again until the Battersea South by-election in February 1929. The vacancy had arisen when the Conservative MP Francis Curzon succeeded to the peerage as Earl Howe, and in a three-way contest Bennett took the seat for Labour^[3] with a majority of 2.1% of the votes.^[4] He was re-elected at the general election in May 1929 with a majority of only 1.1%,^[4] but at the 1931 general election he was soundly defeated by the Conservative Harry Selley, whose majority was 36.2%.^[4]

Bennett was never returned to the House of Commons, but after Labour gained control of the London County Council from the Municipal Reform Party in 1934,^[9] he was appointed on 13 March as an alderman of the council.^[10]

^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)
^ ^a ^b Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 477. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
^ "British By-Election". The Mercury (Hobart). 9 February 1929. p. 6. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c Craig, page 4
^ Craig, page 374
^ "Hitchin By-election. Conservatives Retain Seat". The Brisbane Courier. 10 June 1933. p. 13. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
^ Craig, page 411
^ Craig, page 535
^ "L.C.C. Election: Full Results Of The Poll, Labour's Victory". The Times. 10 March 1934. p. 8.
^ "Chairman Of The L.C.C.". The Times. 13 March 1934. p. 14.