February 1920 The Wrekin by-election

Although forced out of Parliament through bankruptcy in 1912, Bottomley had come back as an Independent in his old seat of Hackney South in 1918. He formed the Independent Parliamentary Group and sensed the growing unpopularity of the Coalition and the reluctance of many working men and women to give wholehearted support to a Labour Party still feared as introducing the novelty of socialism to British politics. Bottomley knew from his own brand of populist, jingoistic, politics that, as Palmer put it, "there is an immense body of sound opinion in the working classes which ranges itself on the side of King and Constitution."^[2] In this climate, Bottomley understood that here was an opportunity to try add create a new third force in Parliament, anticipating the upsurge of opinion which was to produce good results for Anti-Waste candidates in the coming months. He persuaded Palmer to stand for election in The Wrekin and in a three-cornered contest against a Coalition Liberal and a Labour candidate.

Coalition Liberal

• John Bayley, member of Salop County Council, chief organiser for Sir Charles Henry and principal of Wellington College

Labour

• Charles Duncan, former member for Barrow-in-Furness (1906–1918) and General Secretary of the Workers' Union

Independent Conservative

• Charles Palmer, journalist and newspaper editor

Palmer – without the advantages of local organisation or local connections and strongly supported by Bottomley himself – won a stunning and unexpected victory. The Coalition candidate, John Bayley, who had been closely associated with the previous MP and was well known locally as principal of Wellington College could only come in a poor third place.

Palmer died on 25 October 1920 from double pneumonia and pleurisy after catching a chill during a visit to the Wrekin.^[4] Another by-election was held in November, also won by a Conservative opposed to the coalition, Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend.