The 1899 Aylesbury 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

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

constituency of

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

on 6 January 1899.

Vacancy

The vacancy was caused by the death of the sitting

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 ...

MP, Baron Fredinand von Rothschild at the family home which he had built,

Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation ...

, on 17 December 1898. Rothschild had held the Aylesbury seat since 1885, first as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

but he later joined the Liberal Unionist exodus over

Irish Home Rule The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...

and had sat as Liberal Unionist since 1886.

Candidates

Liberal Unionists

At first it appeared that the by-election arising from Rothschild’s death would be contested, although neither the Unionists nor the Liberals had a candidate in the field. The Liberal Unionists were reported as considering asking the Hon. Lionel Walter Rothschild, the son of the late Lord Rothschild, to be their candidate. This proposal met with Rothschild’s approval and the Liberal Unionists held a meeting at

Aylesbury Town Hall Aylesbury Town Hall is a name which has been used for two different buildings in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. Since 2007 the name has been used for an office building at 5 Church Street, which serves as the headquarters of Aylesbury Tow ...

on the evening of Tuesday 3 January 1899 to formally decide the issue of their candidate. The meeting was chaired by

Leopold de Rothschild Leopold de Rothschild (22 November 1845 – 29 May 1917) was a British banker, thoroughbred race horse breeder, and a member of the prominent Rothschild family. Biography Early life Leopold de Rothschild was the third son and youngest of th ...

, the cousin and brother-in-law of the late MP. The meeting was said to be large and was attended, amongst others, by Sir Fortescue Flannery MP and

Coningsby Disraeli Coningsby Ralph Disraeli (25 February 1867 – 30 September 1936), was a British Conservative politician, and MP for Altrincham. Early life and education Disraeli was born in Kensington, London, in February 1867, to Ralph Disraeli (1809–1 ...

MP. The meeting agreed to endorse Walter Rothschild as their candidate. Rothschild accepted, announcing he was opposed to Home Rule and to the proposal of the Gladstonians to abolish the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. He also said he supported the many reforms of a social character put forward by

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Cons ...

before his break with the Liberal Party, which now formed an integral part of the Unionist programme.

Liberals

The local Liberals were initially said to be in favour of approaching George Russell who had formerly been MP for the Aylesbury constituency. Other

Carpetbaggers In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical term used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the l ...

were looking for a seat. The Aylesbury Liberal Association received an unsolicited

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

from a Mr. Mackay Green of George Street,

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saying he thought the seat could be won in the

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

interest and offering himself as candidate, so long as all expenses were paid. The Liberals had failed to contest the seat at the previous general election in 1895 and in the end they chose not to oppose Rothschild at the by-election.

The result

There being no other nominations therefore, Rothschild was returned unopposed.The Times, 7 January 1899 p6

Vacancy

Candidates

Liberal Unionists

Liberals

The result

References

See also