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The North West Staffordshire by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 31 July 1907. [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.
The by-election was caused by the death of Sir Alfred Billson on 9 July 1907. He had been Liberal MP for the seat of North West Staffordshire since the 1906 general election. In June 1907 he was knighted in King Edward VII's Birthday Honours List although he did not live to receive the accolade. He died suddenly in the House of Commons when he collapsed in the 'Aye' lobby while casting his vote on sugar duty legislation, aged 68. [2] [3]
The seat had been gained by the Liberals in 1906. At the previous four elections a Conservative had won and a Liberal had not previously won since 1885, before the party split over Irish Home Rule.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Alfred Billson | 7,667 | 58.0 | ||
| Conservative | James Heath | 5,557 | 42.0 | ||
| Majority | 2,110 | 16.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 13,224 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Polling Day was fixed for the 31 July 1907, just 22 days after the death of the previous MP, making for a very short campaign. Twyford, the Conservative candidate, was a supporter of tariff reform. He sought to attract votes from local miners by claiming he supported their campaign for an eight-hour working day. [9] Stanley, the Liberal candidate supported free trade and Irish Home Rule. He hoped to win the backing of the overwhelming majority of the 5,000 miners living in the constituency. Stanley's campaign was supported by a number of Liberal MPs including those sponsored by trade unions. He did not receive any help from Labour Party MPs. [10]
The Liberals held the seat and managed a slightly increased majority;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Albert Stanley | 7,396 | 59.4 | +1.4 | |
| Conservative | Thomas Twyford | 5,047 | 40.6 | −1.4 | |
| Majority | 2,349 | 18.8 | +2.8 | ||
| Turnout | 12,443 | 79.1 | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +1.4 | |||
Stanley attributed his victory to the "perfect union" of Liberal and Labour forces. Twyford blamed his defeat on his failure to attract miners' votes. [11]
Stanley was opposed to the miners affiliating to the Labour Party. When in 1909 the Miners Federation of Great Britain voted to affiliate, although a lifelong Liberal, [12] he agreed to seek re-election as a Labour Party candidate.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Albert Stanley | 8,566 | 59.8 | +0.4 | |
| Conservative | Gilbert Nugent | 5,754 | 40.2 | −0.4 | |
| Majority | 2,812 | 19.6 | +0.8 | ||
| Turnout | 14,320 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +0.4 | |||
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