1911 Westbury by-election

The 1911 Westbury by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 22 February 1911.[1] The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Vacancy

The sitting Liberal Member for Westbury, Sir John Fuller, resigned his seat in the House of Commons on his appointment as Governor of Victoria. He had represented the constituency since 1900, when he gained it from the Conservatives.

Electoral history

General election December 1910: Westbury[2] Electorate 10,411
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Fuller 5,041 54.8 +0.9
Conservative George Palmer 4,152 45.2 −0.9
Majority 889 9.6 +1.8
Turnout 9,193 88.3 −4.1
Liberal hold Swing +0.9

Candidates

Result

On an increased turnout, the Liberal Party held the seat with only a 1.8% swing against them.

Geoffrey Howard
1911 Westbury by-election[5] Electorate 10,612
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Geoffrey Howard 5,073 53.0 −1.8
Conservative George Palmer 4,492 47.0 +1.8
Majority 581 6.0 −3.6
Turnout 9,565 90.1 +1.8
Liberal hold Swing -1.8

Aftermath

A general election was due to take place by the end of 1915, and by the autumn of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest it at Westbury.

However, due to the outbreak of war, there was no general election until 1918. At the 1918 general election, a former Liberal member of parliament, who had joined the Labour Party in 1916, intervened in the contest, handing the seat to the Unionists.

General election 14 December 1918: Westbury[6] Electorate 29,208
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist *George Palmer 9,261 49.1 +3.9
Liberal Geoffrey Howard 6,064 32.1 −22.7
Labour Ernest Bennett 3,537 18.8 New
Majority 3,197 17.0 N/A
Turnout 18,862 64.6 −23.7
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +13.3
  • Candidate endorsed by the Coalition Government.

References

  1. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 105.
  2. ^ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918, Craig, F. W. S. (1974)
  3. ^ ‘HOWARD, Hon. Geoffrey (William Algernon)’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 12 Dec 2013
  4. ^ ‘PALMER, Brig.-General George Llewellen’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 12 Dec 2013
  5. ^ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918, Craig, F. W. S. (1974)
  6. ^ British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S. (1974)