During the First World War, British by‐elections were more frequent than in either the pre‐ or post‐war period due to the length of the parliament, the stress of the war, and combat fatalities. Due to an agreement among the chief whips of the principal British parties, these by‐elections were infrequently contested. This party truce meant that in most by‐elections only a single official candidate from the incumbent party stood. However, an independent candidate (or in four instances, two independent candidates) did challenge the official candidate in 29 of the 118 by‐elections (or 24.6% of the time). The challengers were more than three times likely to support the war than call for peace by negotiation. In only seven by‐elections (or 5.9%), peace by negotiation candidates stood, and they polled much more poorly on average than the candidates who supported the war. Only three independent candidates defeated the official candidate, and all were strongly supportive of the war effort. Several independent candidates stood espousing a narrow issue, such as wartime liquor controls, veterans’ rights, conscription of married men, co‐operative taxes, or agricultural concerns. Further, the by‐election results foreshadowed the post‐war replacement of the collapsing Liberal Party by Labour as the principal rival of the Conservatives.

中文翻译：

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第一次世界大战期间的英国议会补选，1914-18

在第一次世界大战期间，由于议会时间长、战争压力和战斗人员伤亡，英国补选比战前或战后时期更频繁。由于英国主要政党的主要党鞭之间达成一致，这些补选很少有争议。政党休战意味着在大多数补选中，只有现任政党的一名正式候选人参选。然而，在 118 次补选中的 29 次（或 24.6% 的时间）中，一名独立候选人（或在四次情况下，两名独立候选人）确实挑战了正式候选人。挑战者支持战争的可能性是通过谈判呼吁和平的三倍多。仅在七次补选（或 5.9%）中，谈判和平候选人站了起来，他们的平均投票结果比支持战争的候选人要差得多。只有三位独立候选人击败了正式候选人，并且都强烈支持战争努力。几位独立候选人支持一个狭隘的问题，例如战时酒类管制、退伍军人的权利、已婚男子的征兵、合作税或农业问题。此外，补选结果预示着战后即将垮台的自由党将被工党取代，成为保守党的主要竞争对手。或农业问题。此外，补选结果预示着战后即将垮台的自由党将被工党取代，成为保守党的主要竞争对手。或农业问题。此外，补选结果预示着战后即将垮台的自由党将被工党取代，成为保守党的主要竞争对手。