Ayr Burghs by-election, 1888

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The Ayr Burghs by-election, 1888 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Ayr Burghs on 15 June 1888. The seat had become vacant when the sitting Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament Richard Frederick Fotheringham Campbell died.

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

Ayr Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system.

The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule. The two parties formed the ten-year-long coalition Unionist Government 1895–1905 but kept separate political funds and their own party organisations until a complete merger was agreed in May 1912.

The Liberal candidate, John Sinclair, won the seat in a straight fight with his Liberal Unionist opponent, the Hon Evelyn Ashley. [1]

Evelyn Ashley British politician

(Anthony) Evelyn Melbourne Ashley, was British barrister and Liberal politician. He was private secretary to Lord Palmerston and later published a biography of him. After entering Parliament in 1874, Ashley served under William Ewart Gladstone as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade from 1880 to 1882 and as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1882 to 1885.

The result

Ayr Burghs By-election 1888 [1] [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal John Sinclair 2,321
Liberal Unionist Hon. Evelyn Ashley 2,268
Majority 53

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References

  1. 1 2 Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889
  2. The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 184 (208 in web page)

See also