1904 Sowerby by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 1904 Sowerby by-election presidential United Kingdom Sowerby (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1900s 1900 Sowerby (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1900s 1906 2 July 1904 Higham 85px Liberal Party (UK) 6,049 60.9% Simpson 85px Conservative Party (UK) 3,877 39.1% 1885-1918_Sowerby.png 250px MP Subsequent MP John William Mellor Liberal Party (UK) John Higham Liberal Party (UK) The 1904 Sowerby by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 2 July 1904.Craig F.W.S. 1987 Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987 Chichester Parliamentary Research Services 98 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 John William Mellor had been Liberal MP for the seat of Sowerby since the 1892 General Election. Aged 69, he chose to retire from parliament. Electoral history The seat had been Liberal since creation in 1885. They easily held the seat at the last election, with a reduced majority: thumb|120px|Mellor General election 1900: Sowerby British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS CraigThe Liberal Year Book, 1907Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901 Liberal Party (UK) John William Mellor 5,528 57.6 -1.1 Conservative Party (UK) John Bailey 4,067 42.4 +1.1 1,461 15.2 -2.2 9,595 80.0 +2.3 Liberal Party (UK) -1.1 Candidates The local Liberal Association selected 47 year-old Accrington businessman, John Sharp Higham as their candidate to defend the seat. He was Mayor of Accrington from 1899–1901.‘HIGHAM, John Sharp’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 14 Feb 2017 The local Conservative Association selected 24 year-old William Simpson-Hinchliffe as their candidate.‘SIMPSON-HINCHLIFFE, William Algernon’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 14 Feb 2017 Result The Liberals held the seat from the Conservatives: thumb|120px Sowerby by-election, 1904 British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig Liberal Party (UK) John Sharp Higham 6,049 60.9 +3.3 Conservative Party (UK) William Simpson-Hinchliffe 3,877 39.1 -3.3 2,172 21.8 +6.6 9,926 80.6 +0.6 Liberal Party (UK) +3.3 Aftermath At the following General Election the result was: General election 1906: Sowerby British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS CraigThe Liberal Year Book, 1907 Liberal Party (UK) John Sharp Higham 6,482 61.6 +0.7 Conservative Party (UK) William Simpson-Hinchliffe 4,034 38.4 -0.7 2,448 23.2 +1.4 10,516 84.2 +3.6 Liberal Party (UK) +0.7 References Category:1904 in England Category:1904 elections in the United Kingdom Category:Elections in Calderdale Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in West Yorkshire constituencies Category:July 1904 in the United Kingdom