Haden-Guest and his Conservative backers wished to present the by-election as a struggle between socialism and constitutional government. They declared that the duty of the electorate was to revolt against a Labour Party they believed was drifting increasingly leftwards. For this reason they were horrified by the decision of the Liberal Party to intervene in the contest and risk splitting the anti-socialist vote. Haden-Guest’s split with Labour over China appears to have been symptomatic of wider differences of opinion with the party. He had already taken a different line on the issue of the 1926 General Strike. Opinions also diverged on foreign and Empire policy issues. Haden-Guest was a supporter of Imperial Preference which brought him into conflict with party policy and he had a reputation as a strong supporter of the Empire.