The 1890 Eccles by-election was a parliamentary

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held for the

British House of Commons 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 in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

constituency of Eccles in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

on 22 October 1890.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP the Hon. Alfred John Francis Egerton on 25 September 1890. Egerton had held the seat at the 1886 general election with a majority of 292 votes.

The candidates and constituency

The campaign began immediately following the late MP's funeral on 30 September. There were two candidates: * Algernon Fulke Egerton, a former

MP and uncle of the deceased member, who was also supported by the local

Liberal Unionist 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 (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

organisation. *

Henry John Roby Henry John Roby (20 August 1830 – 2 January 1915), was an English classical scholar and writer on Roman law, and a Liberal Member of Parliament. He was a Cambridge Apostle. Early life and Cambridge Roby was the son of a solicitor and was born ...

, a partner in the firm of Ermen & Roby cotton thread manufacturers, candidate of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. The constituency was described as containing an "electorate of varied pursuits and interests", with different areas favourable to each candidate. The Liberals were thought to be strong among the factory workers in

Patricroft Patricroft is a suburb near Eccles, Greater Manchester, England. History Patricroft may derive its name from 'Pear-tree croft', or more likely, 'Patrick's Croft'. In 1836, Scottish engineer James Nasmyth, in partnership with Holbrook Gaskell, bu ...

Pendlebury Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies north-west of Manchester city centre, north-west of Salford and south-east of Bolton. Historically in Lancash ...

and Swinton. Roby's family firm maintained two mills in the area, and he was known to be a popular employer. There was also a large number of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

voters among the employees of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

locomotive works in Patricroft likely to be in favour of

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

. In contrast, the mainly residential town of Eccles was thought to be favourable to the Conservative candidate. The political allegiance of the coal miners of the constituency was uncertain. The Egerton family had been involved in the development and ownership of the collieries, and the Conservatives were confident that this would be sufficient to secure their support. On the other hand, the Liberals, who supported an eight-hour working day, believed they would get the majority of miners' votes.

The campaign

Roby's campaign was bolstered by the support of the

Irish National League The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded on 17 October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League h ...

, with a number of Irish MPs visiting the constituency to support him. The miners' associations applied pressure on Egerton to support an eight hours bill. However he came out in opposition to such a move. The Ashton & Haydock and Manchester Miners' Associations subsequently gave their full support to the Liberals. Following the miners' decision it was clear that the momentum was with the Liberals, and the Conservatives "were beginning to recognise hat Egerton'sname and influence will avail them little".

Polling day

Polling opened at 8 a.m., with both parties organising transport for their supporters. Rosettes in party colours were widely worn: blue for the Conservatives and red for the Liberals. The Liberals were fearful of

personation Personation (rather than ''im''personation) is a primarily-legal term, meaning 'to assume the identity of another person with intent to deceive'. It is often used for the kind of voter fraud where an individual votes in an election, whilst prete ...

and employed a large number of

scrutineer A scrutineer (also called a poll-watcher or a challenger in the United States) is a person who observes any process which requires rigorous oversight. Scrutineers have the tasks of preventing the occurrence of corruption and of detecting genuine ...

s at the eleven polling stations. Polling was relatively slow until lunch time, when large numbers of navvies and mill-operators voted. There was a heavy poll from 5 p.m. until the close of polls at 8 p.m.

Results

The votes were counted at Eccles Town Hall, and the result was a gain for the Liberals. This was seen as setback for the Unionist government of

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

and a rejection of their Irish policy.

References

{{By-elections to the 24th UK Parliament Eccles By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Greater Manchester constituencies Eccles By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Lancashire constituencies Eccles, Greater Manchester 1890s in Lancashire