1903 Ludlow by-election

Ludlow by-election, 1903

←  1900 22 December 1903 1906  →

Candidate Rowland Hunt Frederic Horne Party Liberal Unionist Liberal Popular vote 4,393 3,423 Percentage 56.2% 43.8%

MP before election Robert Jasper More Liberal Unionist Subsequent MP Rowland Hunt Liberal Unionist

The Ludlow by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 22 December 1903. ^[1] The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Vacancy

Robert Jasper More had been Liberal Unionist MP for the seat of Ludlow since the 1892 General Election. He died on 25 November 1903 at the age of 67.

Electoral history

The seat had been Liberal Unionist since they gained it in 1886. They held the seat at the last election, unopposed. The last occasion a Liberal had stood was in 1892 when the Unionists won easily;

More

General election 1892: Ludlow ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Robert Jasper More	5,965	73.5
	Liberal	F Sydney Morris	2,146	26.5
Majority			3,819	47.0
Turnout			8.111	71.9
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing

Candidates

• The local Conservative Association selected 45 year-old Rowland Hunt as their candidate to defend the seat. Hunt was the son of Rowland Hunt, of Boreatton Hall, Baschurch, Shropshire and his wife Florence Marianne, daughter of Richard B. Humfrey, of Kibworth Hall, Leicestershire, and Stoke Albany House, Northamptonshire. ^{[3] [4]} The Hunts were one of the principal families of north Shropshire. ^[5] His uncle George Ward Hunt was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Disraeli. ^[6] Hunt was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge. ^[7] He served with the Lovat Scouts during the Second Boer War, and later became a Major in the City of London Yeomanry. ^[8] In 1889, Hunt married Georgina Veronica Davidson, daughter of Colonel Duncan Davidson of Tulloch Castle in Dingwall. They had two sons and one daughter. ^{[9] [10]}
• The local Liberal Association selected 40 year-old Frederic Horne as their candidate to gain the seat. He had not stood for parliament before. After leaving Adams Grammar School, in Newport, Shropshire he studied farming in Shropshire. He farmed at Shifnal ^[11]

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for the 22 December, just 27 days after the previous MP died.

Result

Ludlow by-election, 1903 ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Rowland Hunt	4,393	56.2
	Liberal	Frederic Horne	3,423	43.8
Majority			970	12.4
Turnout			7,816
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing

Aftermath

At the following General Election the result was;

General election 1906: Ludlow ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Rowland Hunt	4,978	54.1	-2.1
	Liberal	Frederic Horne	4,218	45.9	+2.1
Majority			760	8.2	-4.2
Turnout			9,196	85.4
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	-2.1

References

1. Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 97.
2. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
3. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
4. odnb-agnes-hunt
5. The Times, 1903-12-08
6. The Times, 1903-12-08
7. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
8. The Times, 1943-12-01
9. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
10. The Times, 1943-12-01
11. ‘HORNE, Frederic’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 9 Aug 2017
12. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
13. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig