Hartlepool by-election, 1910

The Hartlepools by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Vacancy

Sir Christopher Furness had been Liberal MP for the seat of The Hartlepools since the 1900 General Election. His re-election in January 1910 was declared void after an electoral petition causing the need for the by-election.[1] The Petitioners (Joseph Foster Wilson and John Roger Butterwick) alleged illegal practices in illegal payments to certain persons, for marks of distinction and for conveyance of voters to the poll. It was also alleged that the maximum campaign expenditure allowed had been exceeded and that a false return of expenses had been made by the Butler, Furness's Election Agent. Butler, who was the private secretary of Furness, charged nothing for his services and clerks in the employ of Furness's firm rendered clerical assistance without payment. The return of Election expenses made was only a few shillings below the maximum allowed. Mr Justice Phillimore commented "If it could be said that Butler's appointment was wholly political, or that he was retained partly as a private secretary and also for the political work of Sir Christopher, if he was an extra Agent during the Election, then it would be necessary to return a proportionate part of the salary as being an expense of the Election. It was said that the real reason why he was not paid anything was the fact that Sir Christopher's expenses came within a few shillings of the maximum, but there was no evidence of any contract to the effect that Sir Christopher Furness would pay the Election Agent's fee if he could do so without exceeding the maximum of expense." As to the clerks, Mr. Justice Phillimore said : — " The evidence with regard to the employment on the Election day of clerks in the service of Furness, Withy & Co. was incomplete. He was not able to say, on the evidence, whether they ought to consider Furness, Withy & Co., Ltd., as a separate person from Sir Christopher, under another name.[2]

Electoral history

The seat had been won by the Liberal Party at every election since 1874, apart from 1886 and 1895 when a former Liberal standing as a Liberal Unionist won. Furness easily held the seat at the last election;

General Election January 1910: Hartlepool[3] Electorate 13,708
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Sir Christopher Furness 6,531 53.2 n/a
Conservative William George Howard Gritten 5,754 46.8 n/a
Majority 777 6.4 n/a
Turnout 89.6 n/a
Liberal hold Swing n/a

Candidates

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for the 20 June 1910.

Result

Furness held the seat with a reduced majority;

Hartlepool by-election, 1910: Hartlepool[7] Electorate 13,708
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Stephen Wilson Furness 6,159 50.7 -2.5
Conservative William George Howard Gritten 5,993 49.3 +2.5
Majority 166 1.4 -5.0
Turnout 88.6 -1.0
Liberal hold Swing -2.5

Aftermath

Furness held the seat at the following General Election six months later with a further reduced majority;

General Election December 1910: Hartlepool[8] Electorate 13,708
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Stephen Wilson Furness 6,017 50.2 -0.5
Conservative William George Howard Gritten 5,969 49.8 +0.5
Majority 48 0.4 -1.0
Turnout 87.4 -1.2
Liberal hold Swing -0.5

References

  1. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918, Craig, F. W. S.
  2. The Liberal Magazine, 1910
  3. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918, Craig, F. W. S.
  4. Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
  5. "Mr W.G.H. Gritten", Obituary, The Times (London), Thursday, Apr 08, 1943, page 7, Issue 49515
  6. Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
  7. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918, Craig, F. W. S.
  8. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918, Craig, F. W. S.
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