Barnstaple by-election, 1911
The Barnstaple by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
Previous result
| General Election December 1910
Electorate 13,126 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Ernest Joseph Soares | 6,047 | 54.0 | ||
| Liberal Unionist | Charles Sandbach Parker | 5,155 | 46.0 | ||
| Majority | 892 | 8.0 | |||
| Turnout | 85.3 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | ||||
Candidates
The Liberal candidate was Sir Godfrey Baring, a 40-year-old Eton educated former Liberal MP from the Isle of Wight. He had sat for the Isle of Wight from 1906 until his defeat in January 1910. At the December 1910 General Election he had contested Devonport . He was the chairman of the Isle of Wight County Council.
The Unionist candidate was Charles Sandbach Parker, an Ayrshire-based 47-year-old Chairman and Managing Director of Demerara Co. who had been educated at Eton and Oxford. He had contested Barnstaple at the December 1910 General Election.
Result
| Barnstaple by-election, 1911
Electorate 13,595 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Sir Godfrey Baring | 6,239 | 52.0 | -2.0 | |
| Liberal Unionist | Charles Sandbach Parker | 5,751 | 48.0 | +2.0 | |
| Majority | 4.0 | -4.0 | |||
| Turnout | 88.2 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -2.0 | |||
Aftermath
A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the autumn of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.
| General Election 1914/15:
Electorate 13,584 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Sir Godfrey Baring | ||||
| Unionist | Charles Sandbach Parker | ||||
Baring chose not to defend his seat and instead sought re-election for his old Isle of Wight seat.
| General Election 14 December 1918:
Electorate 31,790 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Capt. John Thomas Tudor Rees | 11,281 | 51.4 | -0.6 | |
| Unionist | Charles Sandbach Parker | 10,679 | 48.6 | +0.6 | |
| Majority | 602 | 2.8 | -1.2 | ||
| Turnout | 69.1 | -19.1 | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -0.6 | |||
References
- Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
- Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
- Debrett's House of Commons 1916