1914 Wycombe by-election

1914 UK parliamentary by-election May 2014 May 2014 1914 Wycombe by-election presidential United Kingdom Wycombe (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s 1910 Wycombe (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s 1918 18 February 1914 William Baring du Pré 85px Unionist Party (UK) 9,044 57.4% Tonman Mosley 85px Liberal Party (UK) 6,713 42.6% 250px MP Subsequent MP Cripps Conservative Party (UK) William Baring du Pré Unionist Party (UK) The 1914 Wycombe by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 18 February 1914.Craig F.W.S. 1987 Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987 Chichester Parliamentary Research Services 109 The constituency 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 Charles Cripps KC was elected for Wycombe in 1910. He received a peerage from the Liberal government in 1914 and took the title Baron Parmoor of Frieth in the County of Buckingham.28794 20 January 1914 495 Electoral history The Liberal Party had gained the seat from the Conservatives in the 1906 landslide before losing it back in January 1910. The Liberals did not contest the seat in December 1910 when the Conservative candidate was elected unopposed. In January 1910 the Conservative majority was 2,556. thumb|120px|Cripps General election January 1910Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan. Conservative Party (UK) Charles Cripps 8,690 58.6 +13.5 Liberal Party (UK) Arnold Herbert 6,134 41.4 -13.5 2,556 17.2 N/A 14,824 90.6 +7.8 Conservative Party (UK) Liberal Party (UK) +13.5 Candidates There was some speculation as to who the Unionist candidate would be. It was thought that Coningsby Disraeli a former MP and nephew of the former Prime Minister might be chosen. Another candidate considered was Seddon Cripps, the son of the retiring MP.The Times, 2 Jan 1914 However, on 10 January, the Unionists selected William Baring du Pré. He was appointed High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and deputy lieutenant28504 4514–4515 16 June 1911 of the county in 1911 and was a justice of the peace for Buckinghamshire.Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench 1916 He was a popular landlord from a family long-established at Beaconsfield.The Times, 13 January 1914 The Liberal Party already had a candidate in place. In November 1913 they had selected Claud Vere Cavendish Hobart as their prospective parliamentary candidate. However, on 12 January he withdrew as candidate because, as an outsider to the area, he felt he had not got to know the constituency well enough. The local Liberals did have a willing candidate from within their membership in Tonman Mosley who had bought the country house of Bangors Park, Iver, in the constituency. He had been a Unionist until he resigned and joined the Liberals in 1913. He was the Chairman of South Buckinghamshire Liberal Association.The Times, 13/1/1914 He was a barrister and businessman from a landed background. He had been Chairman of the Buckinghamshire County Council since 1904. He unsuccessfully contested Lichfield Division of Staffordshire as a Conservative in the 1885 general election.Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com There was speculation about a Labour Party candidate standing, due to problems with the local chairmaking industry, but the speculation came to nothing. Campaign Polling Day was set for 18 February 1914. Given that the out-going MP had been awarded a barony on 16 January, this left only about 4 weeks for campaigning. The new Great Western and Central railway line to Marylebone Station, opened in 1906, had brought a flood of commuters into the seat around Gerards Cross and Beaconsfield. The rise of 1,800 in the electorate in 1910-14 was largely attributable to this phenomenon, and most of these new voters were reckoned to be Unionists.The Times, 16 February 1914 The core of the Liberal vote was the working class of High Wycombe, mainly engaged in chairmaking. Since November 1913, the whole town had been riven by a lock-out in the chairmaking industry. By February 1914 some 2 to 3,000 men were idle and there had been a number of riots in which factories and the metropolitan police had been stoned. The chairmakers were estimated to be 75-80% Liberal and the dispute deprived the Liberals of the help of some of their keenest supporters. The strike leader, Cllr Forward, advised his followers to abstain. Efforts at mediation could not solve the dispute before polling day. The Liberal government's National Insurance Act was still thought to be unpopular with many voters. The Liberal campaign was run by the Marquess of Lincolnshire who, as Earl Carrington, had been President of the Board of Agriculture from 1905 to 1911. He had started his own career in politics by becoming Liberal MP for Wycombe in 1865 and had maintained strong ties with the area. He was a leading advocate in the Liberal party of the Rural Land Campaign which sought to reform land ownership, land taxation, abolish plural voting and improve agricultural wages. Lincolnshire launched the local Liberal land campaign at a meeting on 2 February.Lloyd George, Liberalism and the land by Ian Packer There was an intensive Liberal campaign in the rural villages. A specially imported staff of lecturers was reported to be 'scouring the countryside' pressing the land policy.The Times, 7 February 1914 Result The local press reported 'light' voting in Wycombe, while the Unionists were able to poll successfully the commuters at the eastern end of the seat.South Bucks Free Press, 20 February 1914 An increased Unionist majority of over 3,000 was confidently predicted.Daily Chronicle, 20 February 1914 Yet, instead of a humiliating reverse, the Liberals achieved a small pro-government swing of 1.2% from the January 1910 result; 1914 Wycombe by-electionCraig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan. Unionist Party (UK) William Baring du Pré 9,044 57.4 -1.2 Liberal Party (UK) Tonman Mosley 6,713 42.6 +1.2 2,331 14.8 -2.4 15,757 86.3 N/A Unionist Party (UK) -1.2 The relative success of the Liberal campaign was attributed to the rural land campaign.Lloyd George, Liberalism and the land, by Ian Packer Aftermath The Wycombe result was a boost to Liberal moral and helped convince the party of the importance in placing the Rural Land Campaign at the centre of their platform at a General Election expected to take place later in the year. It demonstrated that the campaign could save the 30 English rural seats won by the party in December 1910 and assuming the 1.2% swing could be repeated, would see the Liberals gain 9 rural seats. If the election were to be delayed long enough to allow for the passage of the Plural Voting Bill, a further 8 English rural seats would be gained by the Liberals. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place and when it finally did, much had changed. General election 14 December 1918Craig, F. W. S. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 London: Macmillan. Unionist Party (UK) William Baring du Pré Unopposed N/A N/A Unionist Party (UK) References Wycombe by-election Wycombe by-election Wycombe by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Buckinghamshire constituencies Category:Wycombe District Category:20th century in Buckinghamshire