The vacancy arose when the sitting Member of Parliament (MP), Garry Allighan, was expelled from the House for making allegations of corruption.
Labour selected as its candidate Sir Richard Acland, a baronet and former Liberal MP for Barnstaple.
He had left the Liberal Party in 1942 to found the socialist Common Wealth Party, which polled well in war-time by-elections, but won only one seat at the 1945 general election.
Labour, who had not lost a seat at a by-election since the general election, had done badly in the recent local elections and were concerned that the unpopularity of their economic policies might cause a loss of the seat.
This article about a by-election to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in England is a stub.