| Election Name: | 1919 Kingston upon Hull Central |
| Type: | presidential |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Previous Election: | Kingston upon Hull Central (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s |
| Previous Year: | 1918 |
| Next Election: | Kingston upon Hull Central (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1920s |
| Next Year: | 1922 |
| Election Date: | 29 March 1919 |
| Candidate1: | Joseph Kenworthy |
| Party1: | Liberal Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote1: | 8,616 |
| Percentage1: | 52.8% |
| Candidate2: | Eustace Percy |
| Party2: | Unionist Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote2: | 7,699 |
| Percentage2: | 47.2% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| MP | |
| Posttitle: | Subsequent MP |
| Before Election: | Sykes |
| Before Party: | Unionist Party (UK) |
| After Election: | Kenworthy |
| After Party: | Liberal Party (UK) |
The 1919 Kingston upon Hull Central by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Kingston upon Hull Central on 29 March 1919. The by-election was the fifth to be held during the 1918-1922 parliament.
The seat had become vacant when the Coalition Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Sir Mark Sykes died on 16 February 1919 aged 39, a victim of the Spanish flu pandemic. He had held the seat since winning the 1911 Kingston upon Hull Central by-election on 5 July 1911.
The result at the last general election in 1918 was;
Polling Day was set for 29 March 1919, 41 days after the death of the former MP. Nominations closed to confirm that the election would be a two-way contest.
Percy immediately received the official endorsement of the Coalition Government.
As with the Leyton West by-election 6 weeks earlier, the dominant issue of the campaign was the idea being floated by the Coalition Government of retaining Conscription during peacetime. Kenworthy took a strong line in opposition to continuing conscription. He also argued against the imposition of impossible reparations against Germany. Percy's campaign did little other than express support for the Coalition Government.[1]
According to reports in The Times newspaper, the by-election proved largely uneventful and the parties were expecting a small poll.[2] In the event there was a turnout of 51% which although on the lower end of the spectrum for by-elections of the day, was not the lowest experienced during the 1918–1922 Parliament.[3] Popular opinion was swinging against the coalition government of David Lloyd George and Bonar Law and particularly against the Conservative half of the coalition.[4] As a result, the Liberal candidate, Joseph Kenworthy, gained the seat for his party with a majority of 917 over his Coalition Conservative opponent, Lord Eustace Percy.British Pathe has newsreel footage of Joseph Kenworthy taken after his election victory.http://www.britishpathe.com/video/commander-kenworthy/query/election
Kenworthy went on to hold the seat for the Liberals at the subsequent general election. The result at the following general election in 1922 was;Percy was to find electoral success elsewhere and go on to sit in the Conservative Cabinet of Stanley Baldwin.The proposal for retaining Conscription during peacetime was quickly dropped.