Laborite Wins by Small Margin in Whitechapel By-election

Obtaining a small majority but losing over five thousand votes in comparison with the last elections, James Hall, candidate of the Labor party, was elected last night in the parliamentary by-election in the London Whitechapel district.

The total number of votes was larger this time than in the last elections, reaching 21,824 votes, nothwithstanding the prediction that many Laborites would abstain from voting altogether because of the opposition the British White Paper on Palestine had called forth among the Jews. It was therefore surprising to see five thousand previous Labor voters definitely turn their backs on the Labor Party, three thousand of them voting for the Liberal candidate and two thousand for the candidate of the Communist party.

The actual results were as follows: James Hall, Labor candidate, polled 8,544 votes, the Labor candidate in the last elections having polled 13,701 votes; the Liberal candidate, Barnett Janner, 7,445 votes in comparison with 4,521 votes in the last elections; T. L. B. Guinness, candidate of the Conservatives, polled 3,735, an increase of 318 votes over the last elections; M. Pollet, Communist candidate running for the first time, received 2,100 votes.

Although the Labor candidate was elected, the Liberals nevertheless feel that they were victorious, since they gained 3,000 votes in this election, which is attributed to the opposition to the White Paper. The entire pre-election campaign hinged on the White Paper.

All three major parties made strenuous efforts to capture the seat. The Laborites, seeking to hold a constituency which has been theirs since 1922, sent George Lansbury, Harry Snell and Michael Marcus into the district to campaign while Premier MacDonald himself issued a statement in behalf of Hall.