then been represented as part of the three-seat Hertfordshire a county constituency. When the county constituency was divided in 1885, four new single-member county divisions were created, named after the major town in each area: the St Albans division was one of them, initially including the areas of High Barnet, Borehamwood, Elstree, Welwyn, Wheathampstead, and Harpenden. It had returned Conservative MPs at every opportunity since the 1885 general election, apart from a two-year interlude when the Liberal Party won a by-election in 1904. However, the last contested election in the constituency had been in December 1910, and the electorate had changed significantly in 1918. The Representation of the People Act 1918 had nearly tripled the electorate nationally by expanding the franchise to include all adult males and women over 30 who met certain conditions, while boundary changes in the same Act had seen Radlett, Hemel Hempstead and Harpenden moved out of the constituency, Radlett and Hemel Hemsptead having been seen as Conservative strongholds. The result was an increase from 13,929 electors when the seat was last contested in December 1910 to 23,885 at the by-election: a constituency shorn of some of the support base of the incumbent party, where most of the electors would be voting for the first time. There was a large agricultural sector in the constituency, and major residential areas in the towns of St Albans and at Barnet. Labour looked for its support to the railway-dominated town of Hatfield and amongst workers in Barnet and St Albans. Campaign For the Liberals, Gray campaigned for free trade to combat high prices and increase production. He wanted to see an end to government control, and opposed the Anti-Dumping Bill, which he described as a measure to foster higher prices. Fremantle's main theme was "peace at home". He backed the Government of Ireland Bill, and hoped for cross-party backing for it, but noted that since the Coalition Government had left "no organised opposition worth speaking of" in the House of Commons, the government "must receive its criticism from the inside". He pledged an independent attitude. Brown sought the support of manual workers and trade unionists, particularly amongst the employees of the Great Northern Railway and the Midland Railway. However, he also targeted non-manual workers such as teachers, clerks and city employees who had been hard-hit by profiteering during the war. All three candidates were supported by high-profile speakers. The