On This Day

27 October 1931

Polling day in the 1931 general election

In all 72 Liberals were elected representing in theory an improvement from the 1929 election. However the party was divided into three groups – 33 Liberals lead by Sir Herbert Samuel and 35 Liberal Nationals, lead by Sir John Simon (both groups supporting the National Government) and four Independent Liberals, in effect a Lloyd George family party consisting of Lloyd George, his son Gwilym, daughter Megan and son-in-law Goronwy Owen. The latter group sat on the opposition benches. In all three cornered contests the Liberal vote fell by 7.5% and many Liberal MPs owed their election to the absence of a Conservative candidate and the unpopularity of the Labour Party.