1905 Elgin Burghs by-election

Last updated

The 1905 Elgin Burghs by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 8 September 1905. [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.

Contents

Vacancy

Alexander Asher had been Liberal MP for the seat of Elgin Burghs since the 1881 Elgin Burghs by-election. He died on 5 August 1905, causing a by-election. [2]

Electoral history

The seat had been Liberal since the party was founded in 1859. They easily held the seat at the last election, with a comfortable majority;

Alexander Asher Alexander Asher, parliamentary album 1895.jpg
Alexander Asher
General election 1900: Elgin Burghs [3] Electorate 4,535
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Alexander Asher 1,744 59.5 −2.0
Conservative John Moffat1,18740.5+2.0
Majority55719.0−4.0
Turnout 2,93164.6−3.3
Liberal hold Swing -2.0

Candidates

Campaign

Polling day was fixed for 8 September 1905, 34 days after the death of the previous MP.

Result

There was a large swing of over 11% to the Liberals who comfortably held the seat:

Elgin Burghs by-election, 1905 [10] Electorate 4,748
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal John Sutherland 2,474 70.8 +11.3
Conservative Patrick Rose-Innes1,02129.2−11.3
Majority1,45341.6+22.6
Turnout 3,49573.6+9.0
Liberal hold Swing +11.3

The result was the biggest victory that the Liberals had ever had in the constituency.

Aftermath

Sutherland was re-elected at the following General Election. The result was:

General election 1906: Elgin Burghs [11] Electorate 4,867
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal John Sutherland 2,742 77.7 +6.9
Conservative E.N.B. Mackenzie78622.3−6.9
Majority1,95655.4+13.8
Turnout 3,52872.5−1.1
Liberal hold Swing +6.9

Rose-Innes was not his opponent and instead contested West Lothian in 1906, the 1907 Jarrow by-election and Middleton in 1910 without success. Sutherland remained as the MP until his death in 1918.

References

  1. Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 99.
  2. 'ASHER, Alexander', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, April 2014 accessed 13 May 2014
  3. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
  4. "Election Intelligence." The Times. London, England. 18 August 1905. p. 5. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 May 2014.
  5. The Times, 19 August 1918
  6. The Times, House of Commons, 1910; Politico's Publishing 2004, p. 94
  7. The Times, 19 August 1918
  8. "News in Brief." Times [London, England] 8 Aug. 1905: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 May 2014.
  9. 'ROSE-INNES, His Honour Sir Patrick', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 13 May 2014
  10. The Times, 11 September 1905, p. 4
  11. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907