 Upon returning to London, Beamish ran as an independent candidate in the 1918 Clapham by-election, pledging to "support the Premier in ousting the Hun and making Germany pay for the War".He polled 43%, losing against a government candidate by 1,181 votes.In December 1918 Beamish ran again as a parliamentary candidate for the National Federation of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers, coming out second by 6,706 votes.