1900 Portsmouth by-election

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The 1900 Portsmouth by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 3 May 1900 for one of the two seats in the British House of Commons constituency of Portsmouth in Hampshire.

Contents

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant when the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Walter Clough had resigned his seat on 23 April 1900 by the technical device of accepting appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead, a notional "office of profit under The Crown". The writ for the by-election was moved in the Commons three days later, on 26 April. [1]

Previous result

Walter Clough Walter Clough.jpg
Walter Clough
General election 1895: Portsmouth (2 seats) Electorate 24,057
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Sir John Baker 10,451 26.1 +0.3
Liberal Walter Owen Clough 10,255 25.6 +0.2
Conservative Alfred Charles William Harmsworth 9,71724.3−0.2
Liberal Unionist Rt Hon. Anthony Evelyn Melbourne Ashley 9,56723.9−0.3
Majority5381.3+0.4
Turnout 39,990 (20,129 voted)83.7+3.1
Liberal hold Swing +0.3
Liberal hold Swing +0.3

Candidates

The Liberal Party selected Thomas Bramsdon, a 43-year-old solicitor and a native of Portsmouth. The Conservative Party selected 29-year-old James Majendie.

Result

The result was a narrow victory for Bramsdon.

T.A. Bramsdon Thomas Bramsdon.jpg
T.A. Bramsdon
Portsmouth by-election, 3 May 1900 [2] Electorate 26,698
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Thomas Arthur Bramsdon 10,287 51.4 −24.3
Conservative James Henry Alexander Majendie 9,70848.6+24.3
Majority5792.8+1.5
Turnout 19,99574.98.8
Liberal hold Swing

However, he held the seat only briefly; at the general election in October 1900, he lost his seat to Majendie.

See also

References

  1. "House of Commons debates". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 26 April 1900. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  2. The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 172 (196 in web page)
Bibliography