Ayr Burghs by-election, 1904

The Ayr Burghs 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. The constituency included the Ayrshire burghs of Ayr and Irvine and the Argyllshire burghs of Campbeltown, Inverary and Oban.

Vacancy

Charles Orr-Ewing had been Unionist MP for the seat of Ayr Burghs since the 1895 General Election. He died of heart failure on 24 December 1903 at the age of 43.

Electoral history

The seat had been Unionist since they gained it in 1895. They easily held the seat at the last election, with an increased majority;

General Election January 1900[1] Electorate 6,819
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Charles Lindsay Orr-Ewing	3,101	55.3
	Liberal	Edmond Charles Browne	2,511	44.7
Turnout				82.3	-6.6
Majority			590	10.6
	Unionist hold		Swing

Candidates

The local Unionist Association selected 53-year-old George Younger as their candidate to defend the seat. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy. In 1897, he became chairman of George Younger and Son, the family brewing business.^[2]

The local Liberal Association selected 42-year-old Joseph Dobbie as their candidate to gain the seat. He was educated at the Ayr Academy and Edinburgh University and was in favour of social reform.^[3]

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for the 29 January 1904, 36 days after the previous MP died.

The most prominent issue of the day was the campaign that leading Unionist, Joseph Chamberlain was running to get his government to introduce protectionist trade measures. His Tariff Reform League made a habit of taking their message to each by-election that occurred. However, the Unionist candidate, George Younger, was a committed supporter of Free Trade rather than Tariff Reform. The league nevertheless set up operations in the constituency to promote the issue which made the Unionist message in the campaign confusing. Younger, unhappy with their presence, got the Unionist Association Chairman to contact Unionist HQ in London to complain. As a result the Tariff Reform League ceased campaigning and left the constituency.^[4]

Result

The Liberals gained the seat from the Unionists;

1904 Ayr Burghs by-election[5] Electorate 7,240
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Dobbie	3,221	50.3	+5.6
	Unionist	George Younger	3,177	49.7	-5.6
Turnout				88.4	+2.1
Majority			44	0.6	11.2
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+5.6

The Unionist supporting Spectator magazine concluded that "Whichever way we look at the election, it is impossible to dial cover any evidence of Scotland's conversion to Protection."^[6]

Aftermath

At the following General Election the Unionists re-gained the seat. The result was;

General Election January 1906[7] Electorate 8,031
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Younger	3,766	51.8	+2.1
	Liberal	Joseph Dobbie	3,505	48.2	-2.1
Turnout				90.5	+2.1
Majority			261	3.6	4.2
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.1

References

1. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
2. Who Was Who
3. Who Was Who
4. The Liberal Magazine (1905).
5. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
6. The Spectator, 6 February 1904
7. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig