Altrincham by-election, 1913

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The Altrincham by-election was held on 28 May 1913.

Contents

Vacancy

The vacancy occurred following the resignation of John Kebty-Fletcher, the sitting Unionist member of parliament for Altrincham.

John Robert Kebty-Fletcher was a British Conservative politician.

A member of parliament (MP) is the representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this category includes specifically members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title. Member of Congress is an equivalent term in other jurisdictions.

Altrincham was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1945. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Electoral history

Kebty-Fletcher had won the seat from the Liberal Party at the previous general election in December 1910 with a slim majority of 119 votes.

General Election December 1910 [1] Electorate 18,921
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative John Kebty-Fletcher 8,002 50.4
Liberal William Crossley 7,883 49.6
Majority 119 0.8
Turnout 84.0
Conservative hold Swing

Candidates

On 2 May, the candidates for the by-election were selected. The Altrincham Unionist Association chose George Hamilton of Knutsford, while the Liberals nominated Lawrence Kay-Shuttleworth, eldest son of Lord Shuttleworth, Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire. [2]

By-elections, also spelled bye-elections, are used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections.

Sir (Collingwood) George Clements Hamilton, 1st Baronet was an English electrical engineer and Conservative Party politician.

Knutsford town in Cheshire, England, United Kingdom

Knutsford is a town in Cheshire, England, 14 miles (23 km) south-west of Manchester and 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Macclesfield. The population of the town at the 2011 Census was 13,191.

Campaign

The writ for the by-election was moved on 8 May, and the date for the election was set as 28 May. The delay was due to allow for the week-long Whitsun holiday enjoyed by Manchester workers. [3] [4]

Whitsun name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost

Whitsun is the name used especially in Britain and Ireland, and throughout the world among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples. In England it took on some characteristics of Beltane, which originated from the pagan celebration of Summer's Day, the beginning of the summer half-year, in Europe. Whitsuntide, the week following Whitsunday, was one of three vacation weeks for the medieval villein; on most manors he was free from service on the lord's demesne this week, which marked a pause in the agricultural year. Whit Monday, the day after Whitsun, remained a holiday in Britain until 1971 when, with effect from 1972, the movable holiday was replaced with the fixed Spring Bank Holiday on the last Monday in May. Whit was the occasion for varied forms of celebration.

Manchester City and metropolitan borough in England

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 545,500 as of 2017. It lies within the United Kingdom's second-most populous built-up area, with a population of 2.7 million. It is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority is Manchester City Council.

The Liberals had formed a minority government with the support of Irish Nationalists. As the price of Nationalist support the government was attempting to introduce Home Rule for Ireland.

A minority government, or minority cabinet or minority parliament, is a cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament. It is sworn into office, with or without the formal support of other parties, to enable a government to be formed. Under such a government, legislation can only be passed with the support of enough other members of the legislature to provide a majority, encouraging multi-partisanship. In bicameral parliaments, the term relates to the situation in chamber whose confidence is considered most crucial to the continuance in office of the government.

The Nationalist Party was a term commonly used to describe a number of parliamentary political parties and constituency organisations supportive of Home Rule for Ireland from 1874 to 1922. It was also the name of the main Irish nationalist Nationalist Party in Northern Ireland from 1921 to 1978.

Ireland Island in north-west Europe, 20th largest in world, politically divided into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (a part of the UK)

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth.

One of the main issues in the contest was Home Rule The Irish Nationalist leaders John Redmond and T P O'Connor urged Irish voters to support Kay-Shuttleworth. Hamilton spoke out in support of the Ulster Unionists who were threatening armed insurrection to resist devolution. [5] This led to the Manchester Guardian launching an attack on the Conservative candidate as a "revolutionist". [6] The apparent lack of support for Hamilton by Kebty-Fletcher, and his treatment by the local Unionist Party caused some controversy, although he eventually issued a letter discounting the story. [4]

John Redmond Irish politician

John Edward Redmond was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and MP in the British House of Commons. He was best known as leader of the moderate Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) from 1900 until his death in 1918. He was also leader of the paramilitary organisation the Irish National Volunteers (INV).

The government majority had been reduced from 126 to 106 following the loss of a string of by-elections since December 1910. The Liberals hoped to reverse this trend by regaining the Altrincham seat. [7]

The Liberal Government was planning on passing a Plural Voting Bill that sought to prevent electors who appeared on the electoral register twice from voting twice. Liberal and Unionist HQs were in agreement over 25 seats that were won by Unionists in December 1910 because of plural voting, and this was one of those constituencies. [8]

The Altrincham Trades Council called on workers to vote against Hamilton, who as a major employer refused to pay union rates. [9]

Result

The Unionists easily held the seat with a greatly increased majority. This was however partly explained by an increase in the electorate of 1,939 voters since 1910. Nevertheless, the result was deeply disappointing for the government. In contrast, Unionists were delighted, and Lord Londonderry, President of the Ulster Unionist Council sent a message of congratulation to Hamilton. [7]

Altrincham by-election, 1913 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Unionist George Hamilton 9,409 53.6 +3.2
Liberal Lawrence Kay-Shuttleworth 8,147 46.4 -3.2
Majority 1,262 6.9 +6.1
Unionist hold Swing +3.2

Aftermath

Hamilton held the seat for ten years, losing to a Liberal candidate at the 1923 general election.

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References

  1. 1 2 British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig, F. W. S
  2. Altrincham Contest - Selection of the Party Candidates, The Times, 3 May 1913, p.10
  3. Parliament, The Times, 9 May 1913, p.11
  4. 1 2 Altrincham Polling Day, The Times, 10 May 1913, p.8
  5. The Altrincham Election- Manifesto for Irish Voters, The Times, 9 May 1913, p.12
  6. Altrincham Issues, The Times, 23 May 1913, p.10
  7. 1 2 Altrincham Result, Great Rise in Unionist Majority, The Times, 30 May 1913, p.8
  8. Lloyd George, Liberalism and the land by Ian Packer.
  9. Hecklers at Altrincham, The Times, 21 May 1913, p.8