The

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It 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.

Vacancy

Sir Carne Rasch had been Conservative MP for the seat of

since the 1900 general election. His resignation came at the age of 61.

Electoral history

The seat had been Conservative since its creation in 1885. They held the seat at the last election, with a vastly reduced majority;

Candidates

The Conservatives selected 48-year-old

E. G. Pretyman Ernest George Pretyman, (13 November 1859 – 26 November 1931), known as E. G. Pretyman, was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician. Background and education Born on 13 November 1859 and christened on 1 January 1860 at Great Ca ...

as their candidate. He had been MP for

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

in Suffolk until his defeat to the Liberals in 1906. He was

Civil Lord of the Admiralty The Civil Lord of the Admiralty formally known as the Office of the Civil Lord of Admiralty also referred to as the Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty was a member of the Board of Admiralty who was responsible for managing the Royal N ...

from 1900–1903 and

Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...

from 1903–1906. The local Liberal Association re-selected A.H. Dence to attack the seat. Dence had been defeated at Chelmsford by Sir Carne Rasch in January 1906. His slogan: 'Don't be rash, Vote for Dence' was countered by the successful Conservative's 'Don't be dense, Vote for Rasch.'

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for 1 December 1908. The Liberal government had introduced the Small Holdings and Allotments Act of 1907 which sought to limit the degree to which fixtures and improvements remained the property of landlords, and to increase the number of small farmers. This new measure was expected to have a strong appeal to voters in rural constituencies like Chelmsford. The Conservative campaign was assisted by the presence of immigrant Presbyterian farmers from Ayrshire, and some prominent Quaker Conservatives. The contest was embittered, leading to a full day's work for magistrates dealing with summonses.A Liberal Chronicle: Journals and Papers of J.A. Pease

Result

Pretyman increased the Conservative share of the poll by over ten per cent ;

Aftermath

Pretyman was re-elected at the next General Election and Dence did not stand again.

References

{{By-elections to the 28th UK Parliament Chelmsford by-election Chelmsford by-election Chelmsford by-election Politics of the City of Chelmsford By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Essex constituencies 20th century in Essex