The. Labour candidate, Mr. R. Graham, held the seat for
Nelson and Colnein the by-election occasioned by the resignation of the old Labour.member, Captain A. Smith. It is noteworthy, :however, that he received.less than half the votes polled, and that the Coalition Unionist candidate came second, with 2,772 votes more than the Independent Liberal. The figures were :—Mr. 'Graham (Labour), 14,134; Mr. Wainwright (Unionist), 8,577 ; Mr. Russell Rea (Independent Liberal), 5,805. The Libour poll was only 59 votes above that of -the General Election. The Liberal poll in 1918 was 8,623, but no Unionist was then in the field. Thus even in a purely industrial constituency, composed mainly of cotton operatives who are trade unionists to a woman, the Labour Party is far from having matters all its own way, while the Independent Liberals are out of the running.
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