1912 Manchester North West by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 June 2025 1912 Manchester North West presidential United Kingdom Manchester North West (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s Dec. 1910 Manchester Exchange (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s 1918 8 August 1912 John Randles 85px Unionist Party (UK) 5,573 56.0% Gordon Hewart 85px Liberal Party (UK) 4,371 44.0% 250px MP Subsequent MP George Kemp Liberal Party (UK) John Randles Unionist Party (UK) The 1912 Manchester North West by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 8 August 1912. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. Vacancy Sir George Kemp had been Liberal MP for the seat of Manchester North West since the January 1910 general elections. He stepped down from the House of Commons in 1912. History thumb|120px|Kemp General election December 1910: Manchester North West Liberal Party (UK) George Kemp 5,559 52.1 -1.4 Conservative Party (UK) Bonar Law 5,114 47.9 +1.4 445 4.2 -2.8 10,673 89.2 -3.4 Liberal Party (UK) -1.4 Candidates The Liberal candidate was Gordon Hewart, a barrister on the Northern England circuit. He was born in Bury and educated at Manchester Grammar School. The Conservative candidate was Sir John Scurrah Randles, an industrialist in the coal and steel business. He had been MP for Cockermouth until his defeat in December 1910. Campaign Some of the prominent issues of the day were the Liberal Government's Insurance Act, German rearmament, and trade tariffs. The Unionist party at the time was divided on the issue of free trade v tariff reform. In the Manchester area, and particularly in the Exchange division which included the Royal Exchange where commercial interests were paramount, there were many Unionists who favoured the continuance of free trade and opposed plans by the Unionist leader Bonar Law to campaign in favour of trade tariffs. The Unionist candidate, Sir John Randles was particularly keen to play down this fiscal divide within Unionist ranks. The Constituency had a large number of Jewish voters who had usually supported the Liberal candidate at election time. A leading Manchester Liberal, Nathan Laski, had been instrumental in securing support for both Winston Churchill and Kemp. However, by 1912 Laski had become upset that the Liberal government had not introduced a naturalisation bill, so decided to remain neutral.Lancashire and the New Liberalism By P. F. Clarke Result The Unionist Party gained the seat from the Liberal Party. Manchester North West by-election, 1912 Unionist Party (UK) John Scurrah Randles 5,573 56.0 +8.1 Liberal Party (UK) Gordon Hewart 4,371 44.0 -8.1 1,202 12.0 N/A 9,944 81.9 -7.3 12,143 Unionist Party (UK) Liberal Party (UK) +8.1 It was reckoned that the Conservative won about 50% of the Jewish vote rather than about 10% which was more usual.Lancashire and the New Liberalism By P. F. Clarke Aftermath Gordon Hewart was elected to represent Leicester in 1913. 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. Unionist: Sir John Scurrah Randles, Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place. Following boundary changes, Manchester North West was abolished and mainly replaced by Manchester Exchange. General election 1918: Manchester Exchange Unionist Party (UK) John Scurrah Randles 12,290 69.8 Liberal Party (UK) Arthur Haworth 5,326 30.2 6,984 39.6 17,616 51.0 Unionist Party (UK) References Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan. Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com Debrett's House of Commons 1916 The chief: the biography of Gordon Hewart, Lord Chief Justice of England, 1922–40 Rebel on the Right: Henry Page Croft and the Crisis of British Conservatism 1903-1914 by Larry L. Witherell Category:1912 in England Category:1912 elections in the United Kingdom North West Category:1910s in Manchester Category:August 2012 in the United Kingdom