Whitby by-election, 1905

The Whitby 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

Ernest Beckett had been Conservative MP for the seat of Whitby since the 1885 General Election. He succeeded to the title of Baron Grimthorpe on the death of his uncle on 29 April 1905.

Electoral history

The seat had been Conservative since 1885. They held the seat at the last election, unopposed;

General Election January 1900[1] Electorate 10,740
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Ernest William Beckett unopposed n/a n/a
Conservative hold Swing n/a

Candidates

The Conservatives selected 39-year-old Hon. Gervase Beckett as their candidate to defend the seat. Beckett was commissioned a Lieutenant in the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, Green Howards in 1884,[2] but resigned his commission in 1886.[3] He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Yorkshire Hussars in 1888.[4] He was promoted Lieutenant in 1895[5] and Captain in 1898,[6] and resigned his commission in 1901[7]

The local Liberal Association selected 36-year-old Noel Buxton to attack the seat. In 1896, Buxton acted as Aide-de-Camp to his father during his time as Governor of South Australia. He served on the Whitechapel Board of Guardians and Central Unemployment Body, and was a Member of the Home Office Departmental Committee on Lead Poisoning. Buxton stood unsuccessfully for Ipswich in 1900.[8]

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for 1 June 1905.

Result

The Liberals gained the seat;

Whitby by-election, 1905[9] Electorate 10,857
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Noel Edward Buxton 4,547 52.6 n/a
Conservative Hon. William Gervase Beckett 4,102 47.4 n/a
Majority 445 5.2 n/a
Turnout 79.7 n/a
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing n/a

Aftermath

The Conservatives re-gained the seat at the subsequent General Election;

General Election January 1906[10] Electorate 11,263
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Hon. William Gervase Beckett 4,780 50.4 +3.0
Liberal Noel Edward Buxton 4,709 49.6 -3.0
Majority 71 0.8 -4.4
Turnout 84.2 +4.5
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +3.0

References

  1. ↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 25349. p. 1983. 2 May 1884.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 25646. p. 5599. 19 November 1886.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 25776. p. 361. 13 January 1888.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26621. p. 2555. 3 May 1895.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26996. p. 4939. 16 August 1898.
  7. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27311. p. 3132. 7 May 1901.
  8. ↑ Who's Who
  9. ↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918
  10. ↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918
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