The 1900 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities 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 in Scotland on 3 May 1900 for the House of Commons

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

of Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities. As a

university constituency A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters ar ...

, the constituency had no geographical basis. Instead, its electorate consisted of the graduates of Edinburgh University and St Andrews University.

Vacancy

The by-election was held to fill the vacancy caused by the death on 11 April 1900 of 70-year-old

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

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)

Sir William Overend Priestley Sir William Overend Priestley (24 June 1829 – 11 April 1900) was a British physician and Conservative Party politician. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities from 1896 to 1900. Priestley was born ...

. An eminent obstetrician, Priestley had held the seat since a by-election in May 1896.

Candidates

The Conservative Party selected as its candidate the 65-year-old Sir John Batty Tuke. He was a

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

-born,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

-educated, pioneering psychiatrist based at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, who had been

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1898. Nomination day was set as Thursday 3 May, but the seat had last been contested at the 1885 general election. The Conservatives did not expect a contest in the by-election, and speculation that the novelist J. M. Barrie would stand as a Liberal Party candidate ended on 30 April when Barrie sent a telegram declining nomination.

Result

The nomination process was held in the Senate Hall of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

on 3 May 1900, where the Principal

Sir William Muir Sir William Muir (27 April 1819 – 11 July 1905) was a Scottish Orientalist, and colonial administrator, Principal of the University of Edinburgh and Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Provinces of British India. Life He was born at Gl ...

presided over a gathering of only about 20 people. Tuke was nominated by Professor

Thomas Annandale Thomas Annandale, FRCS FRSE (1838–1907) was a Scottish surgeon who conducted the first repair of the meniscus and the first successful removal of an acoustic neuroma, and introduced the pre-peritoneal approach to inguinal hernia repair. H ...

of Edinburgh, and seconded by Professor Scott Lang of the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. No other candidate was nominated, so Tuke was declared elected.

Aftermath

Tuke was re-elected unopposed at the general election in September/October 1900. At the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting ele ...

, he was re-elected in a two-way contest with

John Strachey (journalist) John St Loe Strachey (9 February 1860 – 26 August 1927), was a British journalist and newspaper proprietor. Life Strachey was the second son of Sir Edward Strachey, 3rd Baronet, and his wife Mary Isabella (née Symonds), and the brother of Ed ...

, a Free Trader. He stood down at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. The government called the election in the midst of a constitutional crisis caused by the rejection of the People's Budget by the Conservative-dominat ...

References

{{Westminster by-elections in Scotland 1900–1949 1900 elections in the United Kingdom 1900 in Scotland 1900s elections in Scotland By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities Unopposed by-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies

Vacancy

Candidates

Result

Aftermath

See also

References