The 1872

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

by-election was fought on 15 August 1872. The

ministerial by-election A ministerial by-election is a by-election to fill a vacancy triggered by the appointment of the sitting member of parliament (MP) as a minister in the cabinet. The requirement for new ministers to stand for re-election was introduced in the Hous ...

was fought due to the incumbent Liberal MP,

Hugh Childers Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (25 June 1827 – 29 January 1896) was a British Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. He is perhaps best known for his reform efforts at the Admiralty and the War Office. Later in his career, as Chancellor ...

, becoming

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

and

Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

. It was retained by Childers. It was the first UK Parliamentary election that was held by

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

held shortly after the Ballot Act of 1872 ended the old practice of open voting had come into effect. There was considerable interest in the outcome, many observers believing that support for the rival politicians might be drastically different as voters were able to make their choice in secret. However, the election results were reflective of the political preference of the constituency prior to the Ballot Act. One of the main arguments made in support of voting by ballot was that it would put a stop to the riots and disorders so prevalent at previous elections. The Pontefract election conclusively proved that secret voting reduced riotous behaviour.

was re-elected on 15 August 1872 following his appointment as

. The Pontefract museum holds the original ballot box, sealed in wax with a

Pontefract cake Pontefract cakes (also known as Pomfret cakes and Pomfrey cakes) are a type of small, roughly circular black sweet measuring approximately 3/4" (2 cm) wide and 1/5" (4mm) thick, made of liquorice, originally manufactured in the Yorkshire ...

liquorice stamp.Pontefract's secret ballot box, 1872
''BBC: A History of the World''. Retrieved 19 May 2014

Results

References

1872 elections in the United Kingdom 1872 in England 19th century in Yorkshire August 1872 events Pontefract Elections in Wakefield By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in West Yorkshire constituencies Ministerial by-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom {{England-UK-Parl-by-election-stub