The 1904 Rossendale 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
Rossendale 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 15 March 1904.
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the resignation of the sitting
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 ...
MP, Sir
William Mather
Sir William Mather (15 July 1838 – 18 September 1920) was a British industrialist and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1904.
Life
Mather was born in Manchester, the son of William Mather and his wife, Am ...
. Mather, who was 66 years old in 1904, had been Liberal MP for
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
and
Manchester Gorton
Manchester Gorton is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Labour's Afzal Khan, who was elected at the 2017 general election. It is the safest Labour seat in Greater Manchester by numerical majority and ...
before winning Rossendale at a by-election in 1900. He had already announced that he would not stand at the next general election believing it would be held earlier in the Parliament elected at the
1900 general election owing to the weakness of the
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 ...
government. The government determined to hang on however and Mather decided to resign. He chose the traditional route of applying for the
Chiltern Hundreds
The Chiltern Hundreds is an ancient administrative area in Buckinghamshire, England, composed of three " hundreds" and lying partially within the Chiltern Hills. "Taking the Chiltern Hundreds" refers to one of the legal fictions used to effect r ...
.
Candidates
Liberals
The Rossendale Liberals had already selected as their candidate
Lewis Harcourt
Lewis Vernon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt (born Reginald Vernon Harcourt; 31 January 1863 – 24 February 1922), was a British Liberal Party politician who held the Cabinet post of Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1910 to 1915. Lord ...
in anticipation of Mather’s standing down.
Unionists
The local Conservatives had not expected a by-election and did not have a candidate in the field. Rossendale was a traditionally Liberal seat. It had been held by the Liberals since its creation for the
1885 general election with only the interlude of 1886-1892 when it was represented by the former Liberal MP the
Marquess of Hartington
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
having switched to the
Liberal Unionists
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 ...
. The Unionists were forced to look as far abroad as
Wimbledon
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* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
for a candidate, approaching Colonel T Mitchell who was the brother of the
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
MP for
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
but he declined to stand. They next turned to Mr John Whittaker, a cotton trader from
Wilpshire
Wilpshire is a village and civil parish in the county of Lancashire, England. It is north of Blackburn, and forms part of the town's urban area, although it is in the Ribble Valley local government district. In the United Kingdom Census 2001, ...
, near
Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
but he too declined to fight the seat. In the event the Conservatives were unable to find anyone willing to contest a Liberal stronghold, citing the serious state of the Lancashire cotton industry as the reason.
Labour
The
Labour Party, then known as the
Labour Representation Committee, considered putting up a candidate. They first approached Daniel Irving, a leading
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
from
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, but he said he was too busy working for
Henry Hyndman
Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 20 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist.
Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's ''Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first left-wing p ...
another prominent Labour politician. In the end, like the Conservatives, the Labour Party chose not to contest the by-election.
Issues
It being an uncontested election, topical political issues were not subject to public debate. However, Harcourt did issue an election address in which he stated that his main concerns were taxation, Chinese labour in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, education and
temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
. He also confirmed his position as an out-and-out
free trader.
[The Times, 10 March 1904 p5]
The result
Harcourt was returned unopposed. He held the seat until 1917 when he became a peer. In the ensuing
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 ...
the seat was held for the Liberals by Sir
John Henry Maden.
References
See also
*
List of United Kingdom by-elections
The list of by-elections in the United Kingdom is divided chronologically by parliament:
Parliament of the United Kingdom
*List of United Kingdom by-elections (1801–1806)
* List of United Kingdom by-elections (1806–1818)
*List of United Kingd ...
*
United Kingdom by-election records
Parliamentary by-elections in the United Kingdom occur when a Member of Parliament (MP) vacates a House of Commons seat (due to resignation, death, disqualification or expulsion) during the course of a parliament.
Scope of these records
Altho ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossendale By-Election, 1904
1904 elections in the United Kingdom
Unopposed by-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in English constituencies
By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Lancashire constituencies
Borough of Rossendale
1904 in England
1900s in Lancashire
March 1904 events