In August 1940, it was reported that Mrs Van der Elst was considering contesting her home seat of Grantham at the next election. During the war, she was charged with non-payment of court costs, breaching the Official Secrets Act, failing to register the Zee-Kol Almond Oil Shaving Soap company for tax purposes and assaulting a police officer by ordering a lorry to be driven at a cordon outside Pentonville Prison.
In June 1945, she announced that she would stand as an independent at Hornchurch but soon tried to withdraw, as she had laryngitis. It was the last result of the election to be announced, after the returning officer said he wanted to “avoid declaring the result to two boys and a dog”.
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