The

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 13 July 1898. The constituency returned one

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) to the

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

, elected by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

voting system. The seat had become vacant following the resignation of the incumbent

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,

James Dampier Palmer Colonel James Dampier Palmer MP (6 September 1851 – 18 October 1899), was an English businessman, British Army officer, and a Progressive-Conservative politician. Early years Palmer's father was William Palmer of Bury House, Romford, Essex a ...

. Palmer vacated his Parliamentary seat by being appointed

Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds is a procedural device to allow Members of Parliament to resignation from the British House of Commons, resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. S ...

on 2 July 1898. Palmer had been

for the constituency since

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

. Palmer’s pending resignation was made public at the start of June.

Candidates

The

candidate was John Ryder. Ryder was a partner in the banking firm of Messrs. Coutts and Co. He was Deputy Lieutenant for

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. 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 ...

candidate was Walter Runciman. Runciman was adopted on 28 June 1898. He was the son of Walter Runciman, a

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

shipping magnate. A third candidate, H. W. Davies, withdrew before nominations. The date of nominations was set as Saturday 9 July with polling on Wednesday 13 July. There were seven polling stations.

Result

References

Gravesend by-election Gravesend,1898 1898 in England 19th century in Kent {{England-UK-Parl-by-election-stub