Bethnal Green South West by-election, 1911

Last updated
Bethnal Green South West in London 1911 BethnalGreenSouthWest1885.png
Bethnal Green South West in London 1911

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

Edward Pickersgill, the sitting Liberal MP for Bethnal Green South West, resigned from the House of Commons in July 1911; in order to take up a post as a stipendary magistrate. [1]

Edward Pickersgill British politician

Edward Hare Pickersgill was an English Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1911.

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.

Electoral history

Pickersgill had been the MP for Bethnal Green South West since 1906, having previously represented the seat from its creation in 1885 until 1900. During the six-year period where Pickersgill did not represent the seat, it was represented by a Conservative. At the previous general election in December 1910, Pickersgill had been comfortably re-elected with a majority of 682 votes.

Pickersgill 1911 Edward Pickersgill.jpg
Pickersgill
General Election December 1910 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal Edward Pickersgill 2,76857.0-1.6
Conservative Eric Alfred Hoffgaard2,08643.0+1.6
Majority68214.0-3.2
Turnout 68.3-11.6
Liberal hold Swing -1.6

Candidates

Following Pickersgill's re-election in December 1910, he had informed his local Liberal Association that he planned to leave politics to become a magistrate. In anticipation of Pickersgill's resignation, the local association selected Percy Harris as their candidate. Harris had previously stood as a Liberal Party candidate for parliament elsewhere on two occasions. However, he was a local man who had represented the constituency on the London County Council since 1907. Charles Masterman had been Liberal MP for West Ham North until he was forced out by the courts early in 1911 when his December 1910 victory was declared void. Despite this disruption to his parliamentary status, he had continued in the government post of Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department. During this period, he was responsible for the passage through parliament of the National Insurance Act 1911. The Liberal Party leadership was keen to get Masterman back into parliament as soon as possible. They told Pickergill that his appointment as a magistrate was conditional upon him supporting Masterman rather than Harris as his successor. The party leadership and Pickergill put pressure on Harris to withdraw as candidate in favour of Masterman, which he did. [3] [4]

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.

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.

West Ham North was a borough constituency in the County Borough of West Ham, in what was then Essex but is now Greater London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.

Eric Hoffgaard, who had been the Conservative Party candidate at the previous general election, was again selected to contest the seat. An Australian-born socialist John Scurr made it a three-way fight. When Masterman was selected as the official Liberal candidate, some of Harris' supporters decided to campaign in support of Scurr. [5]

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

Polling Day was fixed for the 29 July.

Result

The Liberals retained the seat and managed to gain a slightly increased majority:

Masterman 1906 Charles Masterman.jpg
Masterman
By-Election 1911 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal Charles Masterman 2,74550.4-6.6
Conservative Eric Alfred Hoffgaard2,56147.1+4.1
Socialist John Scurr 1342.5n/a
Majority1843.3-10.7
Turnout 76.8+8.5
Liberal hold Swing -5.3

Aftermath

In February 1914, Masterman was appointed Chancellor of the Ducky of Lancaster, and required to resign and fight another by-election and this time was defeated.

By-Election 1914 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Unionist Matthew Wilson 2,82847.6+0.5
Liberal Charles Masterman 2,80447.1-3.3
Socialist John Scurr 3165.3+2.8
Majority240.53.8
Turnout 83.5+6.7
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +1.9

Related Research Articles

Bethnal Green and Bow (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

Bethnal Green and Bow /ˈbɛθnl̩ ɡɹiːn ənd bəʊ/, /ˈbeθ-/, /ˈbɛfnəw ɡɹiːn ən bəʊ/ is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Rushanara Ali of the Labour Party.

Graham White (politician) British politician

Henry Graham White, known as Graham White was a radical British Liberal Party politician.

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.

1932 North Cornwall by-election

The North Cornwall by-election, 1932 was a parliamentary by-election held on 22 July 1932 for the British House of Commons constituency of North Cornwall.

Eugene Wason Scottish politician

Eugene Wason was a Scottish lawyer and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in three periods between 1885 and 1918.

Samuel Ridley British politician

Samuel Forde Ridley was a British industrialist and Conservative Party politician.

The Kingston upon Hull Central by-election, 1919 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Kingston upon Hull Central on 29 March 1919. The by-election was the fifth to be held during the 1918-1922 parliament.

Walter Windsor was a British Labour Party politician. A native of Bethnal Green in the East End of London, he held a seat in the House of Commons from 1923–29, and from 1935–45, when he died.

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.

The Kilmarnock Burghs by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 26 September 1911. 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 constituency consisted of five parliamentary burghs: Kilmarnock in the county of Ayr, Dumbarton in the county of Dumbarton, Rutherglen in the county of Lanark and Renfrew and Port Glasgow in the county of Renfrew.

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 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.

1914 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 Combined English Universities by-election, 1937 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons dual member constituency of the Combined English Universities 22 March 1937.

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.

An election to the County Council of London took place on 7 April 1949. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having three votes in the three-member seats. The Conservative Party made substantial gains, achieving the same number of seats as the Labour Party. However, Labour held the chair of the council, and was thus able to retain control.

References

  1. ↑ "Obituary: Mr. E. H. Pickersgill". The Times . 14 October 1911. p. 9.
  2. 1 2 3 British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
  3. ↑ Forty Years in and out of Parliament by Sir Percy Harris
  4. ↑ Dictionary of Liberal Biography
  5. ↑ Forty Years in and out of Parliament by Sir Percy Harris
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.