Pudsey by-election, 1908

The Member of Parliament for Pudsey, the Rt. Hon. George Whiteley resigned from Parliament by accepting appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead, resulting in a by-election in the constituency.^[1]

Electoral history

General Election Saturday 20 January 1906 Electorate [2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Whiteley	7,043	66.5	14.1
	Conservative	Lt. Col. C W Ford	3,541	33.5	-14.1
Majority			3,502	33.1	28.3
Turnout			15,909	66.5	-11.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

Candidates

Frederick Ogden John James Oddy J. W. Benson Eccentric poet Arthur Hunnable announced that he would contest the election, but failed to submit nomination papers.^[3]

Campaign

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

Result

Pudsey by-election, 1908[4] 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	N/A
Majority			113	0.0	-33.1
Turnout			12066	78.3	11.7
	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.^[5]

References

1. "Parliament - House Of Commons - New Writ", The Times, June 4, 1908, p. 6
2. "The General Election - The Polls", The Times, January 22, 1906, p. 10
3. "Pudsey by-election", Manchester Guardian, 8 June 1908
4. "Election Intelligence", The Times, June 22, 1908, p. 9
5. A Liberal Chronicle: Journals and Papers of J.A. Pease