1907 Rutlandshire by-election

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The 1907 Rutlandshire by-election was held on 11 June 1907. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, George Henry Finch. He had held the seat since 1867 and was Father of the House. The by-election was won by the Conservative candidate John Gretton [1] who held the seat until 1918 when the constituency was abolished.

The Women's Social and Political Union suffragettes campaigned against the government. At an open-air meeting in Uppingham, Mary Gawthorpe and Christabel Pankhurst were pelted and Gawthorpe fell unconscious; Sylvia Pankhurst wrote that the "incident and her plucky spirit, made her the heroine of the Election". [2]

Rutlandshire by-election, 1907
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Gretton 2,213 61.9 +5.2
Liberal W. F. H. Lyon1,36238.1−5.2
Majority85123.8+10.4
Turnout 3,57587.6−1.7
Conservative hold Swing

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References

  1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
  2. Pankhurst, Sylvia E. The Suffragette: The History of Women's Militant Suffrage. p. 22.