United Kingdom general election, 1922

The 1922 United Kingdom general election took place on 15 November 1922. The election saw the end of the wartime Conservative-Liberal-Labour coalition, replaced with a Conservative government under Andrew Bonar-Law, though with a reduced majority. The Liberal Party was fractured and MPs directly campaigned against one another, allowing Labour to become the second-largest party.

National-Liberal campaign
Wary of the Labour Party's growing strength, the other parties agreed to form a unified front with a compromise candidate. The Liberal Party was absent in the election, with the National Liberal Party instead taking its place. The Normanton Conservative Association and the Castleford Unionist Association both chose against picking a candidate, and instead entered talks with the National Liberals to pick an opponent to Labour they would find mutually acceptable.

Bearcroft's campaign was anti-strike and pro-business in order to satisfy more traditionalist voters, though supported the concept of a union. Other than opposing apparent Communist elements in the area, Bearcroft was totally against Labour's "Capital Levy" policy of taxing income between either £1000 or £5000 (£29,057.70 and £145,288.50 in 1920 Pounds, respectively).