Bolton by-election, 1912

The Bolton by-election, 1912 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Bolton in Lancashire on 23 November 1912. Bolton returned two Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Vacancy

George Harwood had been Liberal MP for the seat of Bolton since the 1895 General Election. In 1912, the seat became vacant when he died on 7 November 1912 at the age of 67.

Electoral history

At the previous general election in December 1910, the two members elected were George Harwood for the Liberals and A. H. Gill for the Labour Party. There had been an arrangement between the Labour and Liberal parties in this seat since the time of the 1906 election when Gill was first returned.

General Election December 1910:Bolton[1]

Electorate 21,341

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Green tickYGeorge Harwood 10,358 35.5
Labour Green tickYAlfred Henry Gill 10,108 34.7
Conservative G Hesketh 8,697 29.8
Majority 1,411 4.8
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

Candidates

Campaign

Polling Day was set for 23 November, just 16 days after the death of Harwood. The Bolton Trades Council gave support to the Liberal Taylor's candidacy, with a manifesto issued warning of a "Tory conspiracy to smash the trade unions". The Welsh Church Bill featured in the campaign with Brooks pledging himself to oppose it, hoping this might gain him some Church of England support. The dominant issue of the campaign was the Unionist policy of Tariff Reform which had never been popular among those involved in the Lancashire cotton industry. This helped the Liberal Taylor, who was an advocate of Free Trade and against the Unionist Brooks, who supported protectionism.

Result

There was an unexpectedly heavy turnout of about 90%. The result of the poll was declared shortly after ten o'clock.

Bolton by-election, 1912[5]

Electorate

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Thomas Taylor 10,011 53.1
Unionist Arthur Brooks 8,835 46.9
Majority 1,176 6.2
Turnout 18,846
Liberal hold Swing

Despite the slight decrease in Liberal vote and majority, the local Liberals seemed genuinely pleased at retaining a four figure majority. Taylor put his victory down to "the unalterable determination of the working people of Lancashire to have nothing to do with Tariff Reform", which he predicted would raise the price of food and "bring starvation again into [working class] homes". After the poll, The Times tried to undermine the Liberal victory and explain away the Unionist defeat by stating; “It is probable that this (Trades Council) manifesto had the effect of turning the full tide of the labour vote in favour of the Liberal candidate. And the labour vote decided the election.” Even the defeated Brooks agreed that the labour vote went solidly to the Liberals because of their “distorted” version of Tariff Reform.[6]

Aftermath

Two months later the Unionist decided to drop their tariff reform policies. Taylor sat as MP until resigning shortly before his death in 1916. The Liberals won the Bolton by-election, 1916. Brooks did not stand for parliament again.

References

  1. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig, F. W. S. (1974)
  2. Who was Who OUP, 2007
  3. Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 15 Nov 1912
  4. Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 19 Nov 1912
  5. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig, F. W. S. (1974)
  6. The Times 25 November 1912
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