1879 Canterbury by-election

The 1879 Canterbury by-election was held on 8 May 1879. The by-election was fought due to the resignation of the incumbent Conservative MP, Lewis Majendie. It was won by the Conservative candidate Robert Peter Laurie. ^[1]

Corruption

The Liberal candidate Charles Edwards was accused of spending about £140 (equivalent to £16,920in 2023) on buying votes during the campaign. Although Edwards disclaimed knowledge of this and blamed his campaign manager, he did admit that the money was spent on bribery. ^[2]

Canterbury by-election, 1879 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Peter Laurie	1,159	51.2	−10.4
	Liberal	Charles Edwards	1,103	48.8	+10.3
Majority			56	2.4	−7.6
Turnout			2,262	73.2	−2.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.4

References

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
2. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1881). Parliamentary Papers. H.M. Stationery Office. pp. 5–14.
3. "Canterbury Election" . Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald. 10 May 1879. Retrieved 5 October 2016– via British Newspaper Archive.