1879 Canterbury by-election

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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]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Robert Peter Laurie 1,159 51.2 −10.4
Liberal Charles Edwards 1,10348.8+10.3
Majority 562.4−7.6
Turnout 2,26273.2−2.5
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.