The by-election was held due to the elevation to the peerage of the incumbent Labour MP, Noel Buxton.
[1] Noel Buxton had been Liberal Party MP for the seat until he was very narrowly defeated in 1918.
[2] At the last general election, he held the seat with a majority of 1,883 votes over the second place Conservative.
[3] Unlike the previous two general elections, there was no Liberal candidate in this by-election, resulting in a contest that was a straight fight between Labour and the Conservatives.
Cook challenged her again in the next year's general election, and this time easily defeated her, winning a majority of just under 7,000 votes.