former Home Secretary Herbert Samuel spoke for Gray, while Nancy Astor came to back Fremantle, who also received a letter of support from the Conservative leader Bonar Law. Brown was joined by the dramatist and Fabian George Bernard Shaw, and by the former ministers Sir Leo Chiozza Money and Arthur Henderson. However, The Times noted on 1 December that although all three candidates were extremely active, "it cannot be said that the electorate are showing the amount of interest that might be desired". In the early days of contest, Liberal meetings were disrupted by hecklers, but this died away as the campaign progressed. The Times reported on 5 December that indoor meetings were the most successful; open-air speakers received a tiny audience. Result After polling on 10 December, the result was not announced until 23 December, when the Unionist Fremantle was declared the winner with 45.8% of the votes, closely followed by Labour's Brown with 42.4%. Gray lost his deposit of £150, because his 11.8% Liberal share of votes fell below the threshold of one-eight of the votes. In speeches after the count, Fremantle pronounced himself pleased with the result, and said that voters had sent a message of support to the Coalition for carrying on government "in accordance with the great traditions of the British Empire". Brown said that he was delighted with the result, which showed that the professional classes were coming round to supporting Labour; and Gray said that he could take defeat in a sportsmanlike manner. Aftermath After his by-election victory, Fremantle held the seat at the following General Election in 1922. He kept it for the next 24 years, until his death in August 1943. He spoke frequently on medical issues in Parliament, and was knighted in 1922. The slim Unionist majority at the by-election was not repeated: a 15.6% margin at the 1922 general election was followed by a 21.2% majority in 1923, and in 1931 Frematle's majority was a massive 56.2%. St Albans remained a safe seat for the Conservatives until it was narrowly won by Labour in 1945. Gray contested Bedford unsuccessfully in 1923, but won the Mid Bedfordshire seat at the 1929 general election. He served briefly as a junior minister in 1931, but lost his seat at the 1931 general election, and never returned to Parliament. He served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Liberal Party for 6