The by-election was caused by the sitting Conservative MP, Michael Knatchbull's succession to the peerage on 15 February 1933.

The result at the last General election was as follows; The local Conservatives selected 48-year-old Patrick Spens as candidate to defend the seat.

[1] He was invalided out of the army in October 1916 with 'trench fever' but served as president of ex-servicemen's associations after the war.

Transferring his political allegiance to his original home area, Kedward stood at the 1929 general election for Ashford in Kent.

In 1931, having sided with the Simonite faction in the Liberal party, Kedward fought Ashford as a Liberal National but was defeated as the local Conservatives refused to endorse his candidacy, seeing him as too radical and disliking his overt non-conformism (anti-tithe stance).

This allowed Kedward the freedom to criticise the government on a wide range of issues during the campaign.

Despite a small swing against the National Government, the Conservative managed to hold on to the seat because the Labour intervention split the anti-Tory vote.