1908 Pudsey by-election

The Pudsey by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 20 June 1908.^[1] The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The by-election was caused when the Member of Parliament, the George Whiteley resigned from Parliament by accepting appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead.^[2]

Electoral history

General election Saturday 20 January 1906 Electorate ^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Whiteley	7,043	66.5	+14.1
	Conservative	C W Ford	3,541	33.5	−14.1
Majority			3,502	33.0	+28.2
Turnout			15,909	66.5	−11.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

Candidates

Frederick Ogden, John James Oddy and J. W. Benson were the three candidates. Eccentric poet Arthur Hunnable announced that he would contest the election, but failed to submit nomination papers.^[4]

Campaign

Polling Day was arranged for 20 June 1908, just 18 days after the retirement of the previous MP.

Result

**1908 Pudsey by-election**^[5] Electorate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John James Oddy	5,444	45.1	+11.7
	Liberal	Frederick Ogden	5,331	44.2	−22.4
	Independent Labour	J. W. Benson	1,291	10.7	New
Majority			113	0.1	N/A
Turnout			12066	78.3	+11.8
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Aftermath

On 26 June, it was announced that Whiteley, the former MP, had been awarded a peerage and would take a seat in the House of Lords.^[6]

References

^ Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 102.
^ "Parliament - House Of Commons - New Writ", The Times, p. 6, 4 June 1908
^ "The General Election - The Polls", The Times, p. 10, 22 January 1906
^ "Pudsey by-election", Manchester Guardian, 8 June 1908
^ "Election Intelligence", The Times, p. 9, 22 June 1908
^ A Liberal Chronicle: Journals and Papers of J.A. Pease