Basingstoke by-election, 1906

Last updated

The Basingstoke by-election of 1906 was held due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, Arthur Frederick Jeffreys and was won by the Conservative candidate Arthur Salter.

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

Basingstoke is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the U.K. Parliament. With the exception of a 1923-1924 Liberal Party MP, since modern creation in 1885 it has elected Conservative MPs, so has been a Conservative safe seat. The closest it came to a non-Conservative victory was in 2001, when they were returned with a three-figure majority. The current MP is Maria Miller.

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.

Arthur Frederick Jeffreys British politician

Arthur Frederick Jeffreys, of Burkham House in Hampshire, was a British Conservative politician.

Contents

The Basingstoke division of Hampshire, returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

House of Commons of the United Kingdom lower house in the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster. Officially, the full name of the house is the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. Owing to shortage of space, its office accommodation extends into Portcullis House.

Vacancy

Arthur Jeffreys had been Conservative MP for the seat since the 1887 Basingstoke by-election. He died on 14 February 1906 at the age of 57, just days after being re-elected at the 1906 General Election.

Electoral history

The seat had been Conservative since it was created in 1885. They held the seat at the last election by a very small majority;

General Election January 1906 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Arthur Frederick Jeffreys 4,825 50.6 n/a
Liberal Harry Verney 4,705 49.4 n/a
Majority 120 1.2 n/a
Turnout 79.1 n/a
Conservative hold Swing n/a

Candidates

Verney Harry Verney.jpg
Verney

The Conservatives chose barrister Arthur Salter KC as their candidate. The local Liberal Association re-selected 24 year-old Harry Verney who had been their unsuccessful candidate at the general election. A third candidate, Ernest Polden, came forward. He described himself as an Independent Liberal.

Sir Harry Verney, 4th Baronet British politician

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Harry Calvert Williams Verney, 4th Baronet, DSO, was a British Liberal politician.

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for the 12 March 1906.

Result

The Conservatives held the seat with a slightly increased majority. The intervention of the Independent Liberal candidate proved to be crucial as he took enough votes away from the Liberal candidate to enable the Conservative to hang on.

Basingstoke by-election, 1906 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Arthur Salter 4,852 49.0 -1.6
Liberal Harry Verney 4,593 46.3 -3.1
Independent Liberal J. Ernest Polden 467 4.7 n/a
Majority 259 2.7 +1.5
Turnout 82.3 +3.2
Conservative hold Swing +0.7

Aftermath

Four years later, at the general election, Salter comfortably held the seat for the Conservatives against a new Liberal challenger.

General Election January 1910: Basingstoke [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Arthur Salter 7,506 66.3 +17.3
Liberal John Ernest Wallis 3,821 33.7 -12.6
Majority 3,685 32.6 +29.9
Turnout 86.2 +3.9
Conservative hold Swing +14.9

Verney switched to contest Buckingham where he was elected in December 1910.

Related Research Articles

Wednesbury was a borough constituency in England's Black Country which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.

The Cockermouth by-election, 1906 was a by-election held on 3 August 1906 for the British House of Commons constituency of Cockermouth.

The Hastings by-election 1908 was a Parliamentary by-election. Hastings returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Arthur Acland Allen was a British Liberal Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) between 1906 and 1918.

The Stalybridge by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Shrewsbury by-election, 1913 was a parliamentary by-election held in England in April 1913 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Shrewsbury in Shropshire.

1911 Bethnal Green South West by-election

The Bethnal Green South West by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Carmarthen District by-election, 1912 was a Parliamentary by-election held in the United Kingdom on 29 January 1912 for the Carmarthen District in Wales. The constituency of Carmarthen District of Boroughs, was centred on the boroughs of Carmarthen and Llanelli. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Manchester South by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Reading by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The High Peak by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Dumfries Burghs by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Edinburgh East by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Chelmsford by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Norwich by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The Ilkeston by-election was a Parliamentary by-election in Derbyshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

1902 Orkney and Shetland by-election

Orkney and Shetland is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. In the Scottish Parliament, Orkney and Shetland are separate constituencies.

The Basingstoke by-election, 1920 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Basingstoke on 31 March 1920.

1910 Tower Hamlets St George by-election

The Tower Hamlets St George by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. It was held on 1 March 1910.

The Banffshire by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

References

  1. ↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918
  2. ↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918
  3. ↑ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.