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TheKing's Lynn by-election, 1943 was aby-election held for theBritish House of Commonsconstituency ofKing's Lynn inNorfolk on 12 February 1943. The seat had become vacant when theConservativeMember of Parliament (MP)Somerset Maxwell had died in December 1942 from wounds received at theBattle of El Alamein.
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The Conservative candidate wasMaurice Roche, who had been the MP for King's Lynn from 1924 until he stepped down in favour of Maxwell at the1935 general election. Although a hereditary peer, his succession in 1920 to the title ofBaron Fermoy had not disqualified him from theHouse of Commons, because his title was in thePeerage of Ireland, and did not grant a seat in theHouse of Lords.
DuringWorld War II, the parties in theCoalition Government had agreed not to contest by-elections in seats held by other coalition parties, and many wartime by-elections were therefore unopposed. However, local party members who disagreed with the truce could not be prevented from standing as independent candidates. In King's Lynn,Frederick Wise, who had been the official Labour Party candidate at the 1935 general election, stood as an "Independent Labour" candidate.
On a heavily reduced turnout, Lord Fermoy held the seat for the Conservatives, albeit with a much reduced majority. Fermoy retired (for a second time) at the1945 general election, when Wise won the seat as an officialLabour Party candidate.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Maurice Roche | 10,696 | 54.2 | +4.2 | |
| Independent Labour | Frederick Wise | 9,027 | 45.8 | New | |
| Majority | 1,669 | 8.4 | −7.1 | ||
| Turnout | 9,723 | 39.8 | −31.9 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||