 The Liberals had not won the seat since 1910 and at the 1920 Edinburgh South by-election the Unionist majority was still a reasonably comfortable 3,000.In another straight fight with a Unionist she encountered a swing against her and was out-polled by 2 to 1;

In 1923 she became Vice-Chairman of the Women's Liberal Federation.Upon becoming Mayor of Colchester, she decided not to contest public elections for the duration of her term.