The 1910 Mid Glamorganshire by-election was held on 31 March 1910. The

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 ...

was held due to the incumbent

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,

Samuel Thomas Evans Sir Samuel Thomas Evans (4 May 1859 – 13 September 1918) was a Welsh barrister, judge and Liberal politician. Background and education Evans was born at Skewen, near Neath, Glamorganshire, the only son of John Evans, a grocer, and hi ...

becoming President of the Probate and Divorce Division of the High Court of Justice. It was won by the Liberal-Labour candidate Frederick Gibbins. The Mid Glamorgan Liberal and Labour Association selected Frederick Gibbins to fight the seat. Gibbins was initially reluctant having given certain private assurances that he would not contest the election but he was prevailed upon to change his mind and having consulted his close friends (and perhaps getting the permission of his wife), he agreed to stand. The by-election was acrimonious because it signalled a rupture between the Liberals and organised Labour in the area, especially the South Wales Miners Federation. It also caused internal conflicts within the South Wales Miners Federation, with William Brace, their Vice-President, opposing the intervention of a Labour candidate. It also caused internal conflicts for the Liberal Party as the local Association had been put under pressure by the Liberal

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

, the Master of Elibank. Elibank wanted the Liberals to stand aside in favour of a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate in the interests of good relations with Labour at

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where the

Liberal government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

now depended on Labour and the

Irish Nationalists Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

. However, the Liberals in Mid Glamorgan did not wish to yield the seat and determined to fight it. With tacit Unionist support given to him in a campaign characterised by

anti-socialist Criticism of socialism (also known as anti-socialism) is any critique of socialist models of economic organization and their feasibility as well as the political and social implications of adopting such a system. Some critiques are not directed ...

rhetoric, Gibbins held the seat for the Liberals with a majority of 2,710 against a strong Labour challenge from Vernon Hartshorn a prominent miners’ official who later sat as Labour MP for Ogmore.The Times, 2 April 1910 p15

References

{{Westminster by-elections in Wales 1900–1949 1910 in Wales 1910s elections in Wales 1910 elections in the United Kingdom By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Welsh constituencies Mid Glamorgan