27 NOVEMBER 1920, Page 3

Sir Charles Townshend was returned in Saturday's by-election for the

Wrekin division of Shropshire as an independent supporter of the Coalition. He defeated the Labour candidate, Mr. Duncan, by 3,965 votes on a heavy poll. In the by-election of last February Mr. Duncan was only 538 votes behind the late Mr. Charles Palmer, but in that election a Coalition Liberal also stood, polling 4,750 votes, three-fourths of which seem to have been given this time to General Townehend. The Labour Party has thus sustained another severe defeat in a constituency which is largely industrial, and has found once again that it is far from being synonymous with Labour.