1913 Flint Boroughs by-election

The 1913 Flint Boroughs by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 21 January 1913. ^[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

James Summers who had been Liberal MP for Flint Boroughs since January 1910, died on 1 January 1913.

Previous result

General election December 1910

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Woolley Summers	2,098	56.9	+1.4
	Conservative	Henry Richard Lloyd Howard	1,589	43.1	−1.4
Majority			509	13.8	+2.8
Turnout			3,687	90.8	−4.6
Registered electors			4,060
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.4

Candidates

The Liberals selected Thomas Parry to defend the seat. The constituency included Parry's home town of Mold where he was a prominent lawyer.^{[ citation needed ]}

Campaign

The Liberals had held the seat since gaining it from the Conservatives in 1847.^{[ citation needed ]}

Result

The Liberal Party held the seat with a reduced majority.

Thomas Parry

1913 Flint Boroughs by-election ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Henry Parry	2,152	52.6	−4.3
	Unionist	J. Hamlet Roberts	1,941	47.4	+4.3
Majority			211	5.2	−8.6
Turnout			4,093	94.1	+3.3
Registered electors			4,350
	Liberal hold		Swing	-4.3

Aftermath

A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place. ^[3]

General Election 1914/15

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Henry Parry
	Unionist	J. Hamlet Roberts
Registered electors			4,560

The constituency disappeared in boundary changes in 1918 so Parry transferred to the county seat of Flintshire. Parry received the coalition government coupon at the 1918 general election and was returned unopposed ^[4]

References

1. Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 108.
2. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918. p. 457. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-02298-4. hdl:2027/mdp.39015032111430. ISBN   978-1-349-02300-4.
3. Elections and Registration Act 1915, 5 & 6 Geo. 5. c. 76.
4. The Constitutional Year Book. National Unionist Association of Conservative and Liberal Unionist Organizations, Conservative Central Office. 1929. p. 262.

Further reading

• Debrett's House of Commons 1916