1922 City of London by-election 1922 City of London by-election The City of London by-election, 1922 was a parliamentary by-election held on 19 May 1922 for the British House of Commons constituency of City of London, which covered the "Square Mile" which was the United Kingdom's traditional financial district. The seat had become vacant on the elevation to the peerage of one of the constituency's two Unionist Members of Parliament (MPs), Arthur James Balfour, as the Earl of Balfour. Balfour had held the seat since a by-election in 1906, following his defeat at Manchester East in the 1906 general election. He had also been Prime
Royal Commission on the Amalgamation of the City and County of London and Wales outside London, it was discovered that the council of even the most populous municipal borough had no more than 72 members. The report recommended the creation of a new local authority for the area of the existing City, to be known as the "Mayor and Council of the Old City". The electoral franchise would be the same as that for urban district councils under the Local Government Act 1894, and there would be 72 councillors. The area would be divided into 24 wards with three councillors elected for each ward. Councillors would have a three-year term of office,