Bethnal Green South West by-election, 1914

Last updated
Bethnal Green South West in London 1914 BethnalGreenSouthWest1885.png
Bethnal Green South West in London 1914

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.

Bethnal Green South West (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Bethnal Green South West was a constituency in London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

A parliamentary by-election occurs in the United Kingdom following a vacancy arising in the House of Commons. They are often seen as a test of the rival political parties' fortunes between general elections.

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.

Contents

Vacancy

In 1914 Charles Masterman the Liberal MP for Bethnal Green South West was appointed to the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. However under the law at the time, any MP nominated as minister was legally required to recontest their seat in a by-election.

Charles Masterman British politician

Charles Frederick Gurney Masterman PC was a radical Liberal Party politician, intellectual and man of letters, He worked closely with such Liberal leaders as David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill in designing social welfare projects, including the National Insurance Act of 1911. During the First World War, he played a central role in the main government propaganda agency.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster ministerial office in Her Majestys Government

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Electoral history

Masterman 1906 Charles Masterman.jpg
Masterman
Bethnal Green South West by-election, 1911 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal Charles Masterman 2,74550.4-6.6
Conservative Eric Alfred Hoffgaard2,56147.1+4.1
Socialist John Scurr 1342.5+2.5
Majority1843.3-10.7
Turnout 76.8
Liberal hold Swing -5.3

Candidates

Sir Mathew Richard Henry Wilson, 4th Baronet was an English landowner and Unionist politician.

John Scurr, born John Rennie, was an English Labour Party politician and trade union official who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mile End from 1923 to 1931.

Campaign

The by-election posed a very real threat to Masterman's political future, with party controversy increased by the government's efforts at the time to introduce Home Rule into Ireland, and by the resulting possibility of civil war breaking out there. [5] The militant Women's Social and Political Union and the John Bull League campaigned locally against Masterman. [6] The John Bull League was a front organisation for Horatio Bottomley the right-wing owner of the John Bull magazine. Attempts were made to blacken Masterman's character by the Northcliffe press, and by Bottomley in his organ John Bull. The militant suffragettes opposed Masterman despite the fact that he was a supporter of women's suffrage, [7] and had voted in support of the 1908 Women's Enfranchisement Bill. [8]

Womens Social and Political Union British womens organization for suffragism

The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1917. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and policies were tightly controlled by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia.

Horatio Bottomley English financier, journalist, editor, newspaper proprietor, swindler, and Member of Parliament

Horatio William Bottomley was an English financier, journalist, editor, newspaper proprietor, swindler, and Member of Parliament. He is best known for his editorship of the popular magazine John Bull, and for his patriotic oratory during the First World War. His career came to a sudden end when, in 1922, he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.

<i>John Bull</i> (magazine) Sunday newspaper established in the City, London

The original John Bull was a Sunday newspaper established in the City, London EC4, by Theodore Hook in 1820.

Result

At the request of the candidates, this was the first occasion which the hours of poll were extended for a Parliamentary election by opening at 7am instead of 8am. [9] The result was declared after a re-count, at first the Unionist majority was found to be 22 votes, after the re-count the majority was increased to 24 votes. [10]

Bethnal Green South West by-election, 1914 [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Unionist Mathew Wilson 2,82847.6+0.5
Liberal Charles Masterman 2,80447.1-3.3
Socialist John Scurr 3165.3+2.8
Majority240.5
Turnout
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +1.9

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.

General Election 14 December 1918: Bethnal Green South West [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Unionist Mathew Wilson 4,24052.3
Independent Labour Ernest Thurtle 1,94123.9
Liberal Hugh Meyler 1,93523.8
Majority2,29928.4
Turnout 41.6
Unionist hold Swing

Related Research Articles

Bethnal Green North East (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Bethnal Green North East was a parliamentary constituency in London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 1885 general election and abolished for the 1950 general election

Alfred Scott (British politician) British politician

Alfred Henry Scott was a British Liberal politician.

Percy Harris British politician

Sir Percy Alfred Harris, 1st Baronet, PC was a British Liberal Party politician. He was Liberal Chief Whip and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Parliamentary Party.

The Chesterfield by-election, 1913 was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Chesterfield in Derbyshire on 20 August 1913.

The Middlesbrough by-election, 1878 was a parliamentary by-election held on 5 July 1878 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for the British House of Commons constituency of Middlesbrough in the North Riding of Yorkshire.

Glasgow Tradeston constituency was created in 1885, and elected Liberal Archibald Corbett as their MP from then until he retired from the House of Commons in 1911 to take a seat in the House of Lords as 1st Baron Rowallan. Although Tradeston had consistently voted for Corbett, he did not consistently stand under the same label. In 1885 he stood as a Liberal against a Conservative. In 1886 following a split in the Liberal party he stood as a Liberal Unionist against a Liberal. Thereafter this was the normal contest until 1910. He had re-joined the Liberal party in 1908 but he did not win the official Liberal nomination in January 1910. This time standing as an Independent Liberal he scraped a victory against both Liberal and Conservative candidates. Then at the last general election, standing as the official Liberal candidate he won comfortably.

The West Ham North by-election was a Parliamentary by-election which was held in 1911. 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.

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.

A by-election was held in Bristol East constituency in 1911 to fill a vacancy in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

1912 Hackney South by-election

The Hackney 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.

1914 Poplar by-election

The Poplar 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.

1914 North West Durham by-election

The North West Durham by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 30 January 1914. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

1914 Ipswich by-election

The Ipswich 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 Leith 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 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.

1913 Linlithgowshire by-election

The Linlithgowshire 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.

1912 Crewe by-election

The Crewe 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 Harborough by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 23 March 1916. Harborough returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. The by-election was due to the resignation of the Liberal MP, John William Logan. It was won by the Liberal candidate Percy Harris.

1905 Hampstead by-election

The Hampstead 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, Craig, F.W.S. (1974)
  2. ↑ Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench 1916
  3. ↑ Hull Daily Mail, 16 Feb 1914
  4. ↑ Western Times, Devon, 16 Feb 1914
  5. ↑ Charles Masterman (1873-1927), politician and journalist by Eric Hopkins 1999
  6. ↑ Western Times, Devon, 16 Feb 1914
  7. ↑ Charles Masterman (1873-1927), politician and journalist by Eric Hopkins 1999
  8. ↑ http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1908/feb/28/womens-enfranchisement-bill-1#S4V0185P0_19080228_HOC_73
  9. ↑ Aberdeen Evening Express, 19 Feb 1914
  10. ↑ Nottingham Evening Post, 20 Feb 1914
  11. ↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918, Craig, F.W.S. (1974)
  12. ↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918, Craig, F.W.S. (1974)
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.