Aylesbury by-election, 1885

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The Aylesbury by-election, 1885 was a by-election held on Thursday 16 July 1885 for the British House of Commons constituency of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.

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

United Kingdom constituencies electoral area in the UK (do not use in P31; use subclasses of this instead)

In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elect one member to a parliament or assembly, with the exception of European Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies which are multi member constituencies.

Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Aylesbury is a constituency created in 1553 — created as a single-member seat in 1885 — represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 1992 by David Lidington, of the Conservative Party.

Contents

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the elevation to the peerage of the sitting Liberal MP Sir Nathaniel Rothschild (usually known as ‘Natty’) of the famous Rothschild merchant banking family. Rothschild had been one of the two MPs for Aylesbury since 1865. However, since the formation of the Liberal government of W E Gladstone in 1880, Rothschild had become increasingly disillusioned with the policies of his leader. In particular he was odds with Gladstone’s foreign policy in the Middle East and domestically he was an opponent of Irish home rule. [1] It is likely that Gladstone agreed to send Rothschild to the House of Lords to reinforce his Liberal sympathies or perhaps to have him replaced in the Commons by someone more supportive of party policy. In neither case was he successful.

A peerage is a legal system historically comprising hereditary titles in various countries, comprising various noble ranks.

Liberal Party (UK) political party of the United Kingdom, 1859–1988

The Liberal Party was one of the two major parties in the United Kingdom with the opposing Conservative Party in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The party arose from an alliance of Whigs and free trade Peelites and Radicals favourable to the ideals of the American and French Revolutions in the 1850s. By the end of the 19th century, it had formed four governments under William Gladstone. Despite being divided over the issue of Irish Home Rule, the party returned to government in 1905 and then won a landslide victory in the following year's general election.

Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild British banker and politician

Nathaniel Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, was a British Jewish banker and politician from the wealthy international Rothschild family.

Candidates

The Liberals chose another scion of the Rothschild family, Ferdinand de Rothschild. ‘Ferdy’ Rothschild, who was aged 46 years at the time of the by-election, was a man of considerable independent means as a result of his family connections and spent most of his time in art collecting and appreciation, although he also had a great fondness for country sports. It was Ferdy who was responsible for the building of the magnificent, Château-like Waddesdon Manor. Ferdinand was the brother-in-law of Natty Rothschild, who was the brother of Ferdy’s late wife Evelina (1839-1866). Natty did not like Ferdinand and considered him ‘effete, fussy and pretentious’. [2] However politically, as it turned out, Ferdinand was in tune with his brother-in-law as they both moved from the Liberal to the Liberal Unionist Party cutting themselves off from Gladstone on the issue of Ireland. [3]

Private collection privately owned collection of works, usually a collection of art

A private collection is a privately owned collection of works. In a museum or art-gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual or organization, either for temporary exhibition or for the long term. This source is usually an art collector, although it could also be a school, church, bank, or some other company or organization. By contrast, collectors of books, even if they collect for aesthetic reasons, are called bibliophiles, and their collections are typically referred to as libraries.

Château type of manor house found mostly in French-speaking regions

A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions.

Waddesdon Manor Grade I listed historic house museum in Aylesbury Vale, United Kingdom

Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Aylesbury Vale, 6.6 miles (10.6 km) west of Aylesbury. The Grade I listed house was built in the Neo-Renaissance style of a French château between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839–1898) as a weekend residence for grand entertaining and as a setting for his collection. The last member of the Rothschild family to own Waddesdon was James de Rothschild (1878–1957). He bequeathed the house and its contents to the National Trust. It is now managed by the Rothschild Foundation chaired by Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild. It is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, with over 467,000 visitors in 2017, with 157,000 visiting the house in 2015. Waddesdon Manor won Visit England's Large Visitor Attraction of the Year category in 2017.

The Conservatives, who had history of sharing the Aylesbury seat with the Liberals, chose Mr William Graham as their candidate. [4]

Conservative Party (UK) Political party in the United Kingdom

The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom. Presently led by Theresa May, it has been the governing party since 2010. It presently has 314 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, 249 members of the House of Lords, and 18 members of the European Parliament. It also has 31 Members of the Scottish Parliament, 12 members of the Welsh Assembly, eight members of the London Assembly and 9,008 local councillors. One of the major parties of UK politics, it has formed the government on 45 occasions, more than any other party.

The campaign

Graham announced his candidature and launched his campaign at the market ordinary held at the George Hotel in Aylesbury on 27 June 1885 with a speech to assembled businessmen. [5] Rothschild issued an address to the electors on 30 June. Among the reforms he said he would support were measures for making the transfer of land cheaper and easier, equalising duties on property and the abolition or modification of the law on entail. He was in favour of some degree of the licensing of public houses to be placed in the hands of the ratepayers, deplored the economic conditions which had afflicted rural areas and pledged to do what he could to alleviate hardships and make the cultivation of land more attractive. He stated that every cottage occupier should be given enough garden ground to grow his own food and, like other members of his family, said he was strongly supportive of measures designed to extend and secure civil and religious rights. He was a free trader, opposed to any levies of taxes on imported food. [6] These articulate sounding views may not however have been all Ferdinand’s own work. The Liberal politician Lewis ‘Loulou’ Harcourt regarded Ferdy as something of a political protégée but wrote in his diary that while he was glad Ferdinand had been selected as candidate, senior Liberals had reservations that he was capable of getting through the campaign without someone to look after him. He also recorded that Ferdy was ‘profoundly ignorant on all political subjects and was in need of a great deal of cramming’. Fortunately, Harcourt records, he was to visit the constituency soon and speak for Rothschild and no doubt did his best to bring his protégée up to scratch. [7]

Pub drinking establishment

A pub, or public house, is an establishment licensed to sell alcoholic drinks, which traditionally include beer and cider. It is a relaxed, social drinking establishment and a prominent part of British, Irish, Breton, New Zealand, Canadian, South African and Australian cultures. In many places, especially in villages, a pub is the focal point of the community. In his 17th-century diary Samuel Pepys described the pub as "the heart of England".

Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role, like France's taxe d'habitation.

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the society and state without discrimination or repression.

Meetings and canvassing took place, with visits from Liberal and Conservative MPs – some were described as ‘uproarious’ [8] and a free for all took place outside the George Hotel after polls had closed on the evening of 16 July. [9]

Canvassing systematic contact with individuals, commonly used during political campaigns

Canvassing is the systematic initiation of direct contact with individuals, commonly used during political campaigns. Canvassing operations are performed for many reasons: political campaigning, grassroots fundraising, community awareness, membership drives, and more. Campaigners will knock on doors to engage in personalized contact with an individual. It is used by political parties and issue groups to identify supporters, persuade the undecided, add voters to the voters list through voter registration, and it is central to get out the vote operations. It is the core element of what political campaigns call the ground game or field.

Result

Rothschild comfortably held the seat for the Liberals with a majority of 937 votes. This seems to have come as something of a surprise for the other Liberal MP for Aylesbury, George Russell. On the eve of poll, Russell had confided in Louisa, Lady Knightley of Fawsley, the wife of Tory MP Rainald Knightley, that he was low at the possible outcome of the contest. Lady Knightley recorded in her journal that it would be a triumph if the Conservatives were to beat Rothschild. [10] This is confirmed by Loulou Harcourt who wrote in his Journal for 17 July 1885 that when he got a telegram from Rothschild with the result of the by-election he was pleased the majority was very much larger than expected and most satisfactory for most of the electors were agricultural labourers. [11] The result must also therefore have been a relief to Gladstone and the Liberal leadership, although not for too long in view of the Rothschilds’ defection to the cause of Liberal Unionism.

Ferdy Rothschild held his seat as a Liberal at the 1885 general election and retained it as a Liberal Unionist thereafter at every election until dying in office in December 1898. [12]

== Votes == [13]

Aylesbury by-election, 16 July 1885
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal Ferdinand de Rothschild 2,353
Conservative William Graham 1,416
Majority 937
Liberal hold Swing

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Victor Gray and Melanie Aspey, Nathaniel Mayer de Rothschild in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online, 2004-13
  2. ↑ R W Davies, Ferdinand James Anselm de Rothschild in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online, 2004-13
  3. ↑ Ian Cawood, The Liberal Unionist Party: A History; I B Tauris, 2012 pp157-158
  4. ↑ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results, 1832-1885; Macmillan, 1977 p33
  5. ↑ The Times, 29 June 1885 p6
  6. ↑ The Times, 30 June 1885 p6
  7. ↑ Patrick Jackson, Loulou: Selected Extracts from the Journals of Lewis Harcourt, 1880-1895; Rosemont Publishing and Printing, 2006 p106
  8. ↑ The Times, 11 July 1885 p13
  9. ↑ The Times, 18 July 1885 p12
  10. ↑ Peter Gordon, The Journals of Lady Knightley of Fawsley, 1885-1913; Northamptonshire Records Society, 1999 p76
  11. ↑ Patrick Jackson, Loulou: Selected Extracts from the Journals of Lewis Harcourt, 1880-1895; Rosemont Publishing and Printing, 2006 p107
  12. ↑ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results, 1885-1918; Macmillan, 1974 p224
  13. ↑ Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN   9781349022984.
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