1907 Rutlandshire by-election

The 1907 Rutlandshire by-election was held on 11 June 1907. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, George Henry Finch. He had held the seat since 1867 and was Father of the House. The by-election was won by the Conservative candidate John Gretton[1] who held the seat until 1918 when the constituency was abolished.

The Women's Social and Political Union suffragettes campaigned against the government. At an open-air meeting in Uppingham, Mary Gawthorpe and Christabel Pankhurst were pelted and Gawthorpe fell unconscious; Sylvia Pankhurst wrote that the "incident and her plucky spirit, made her the heroine of the Election".[2]

Rutlandshire by-election, 1907
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Gretton 2,213 61.9 +5.2
Liberal W. F. H. Lyon 1,362 38.1 −5.2
Majority 851 23.8 +10.4
Turnout 3,575 87.6 −1.7
Conservative hold Swing

References

  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
  2. ^ Pankhurst, Sylvia E. The Suffragette: The History of Women's Militant Suffrage. p. 22.


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