1902 Clitheroe by-election

By-election for the Parliamentary Constituency of Clitheroe in 1902 April 2022 The 1902 Clitheroe by-election was held on 1 August 1902 after the incumbent Liberal MP Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth was elevated to the House of Lords. The Labour Representation Committee candidate David Shackleton won the by-election unopposed. Background The incumbent Liberal MP Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth was among the new peers in the 1902 Coronation Honours announced on 26 June. He was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Shuttleworth the following month,27455 18 July 1902 4587 and thus had to resign his seat in the House of Commons. Candidates The barrister Augustine Birrell was mentioned as a possible candidate for the Liberal Party, but withdrew his candidature early; as he found the constituency too far away from London to be able to give it adequate time to contest the seat.Election intelligence 2 July 1902 10 36809 Philip Stanhope, a former Liberal MP for Wednesbury and for Burnley was adopted as a candidate in early July,Election intelligence 4 July 1902 8 36811 and considered running, but stated in an interview that he wanted an alliance between the Liberals and Labour.Election intelligence 3 July 1902 8 36810 The Conservatives considered several candidates, including Colonel John William Robinson Parker, of Browsholme Hall, who had just returned from the Second Boer War in South Africa. David Shackleton was the General Secretary of the Textile Factory Workers Association. Although the textile workers had not yet joined the Labour Representation Committee, Shackleton was appointed as their candidate for the by-election. Philip Snowden, who had been considered by the Independent Labour Party, withdrew from the race. The Liberals and Conservatives also withdrew, sensing Shackleton's strong lead. Result Shackleton was the only nominated candidate, and was elected unopposed at a meeting at Clitheroe Town Hall on 1 August.Election intelligence 2 August 1902 10 36836The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 146 (170 in web page), Lancashire North Easthttps://books.google.com/books?id=qvSIYZitUgAC&pg=PA42 The Lancashire Giant David Shackleton, Labour Leader and Civil Servant 42 Ross Murdoch Martin 2000 Liverpool University Press 978-0853239345 He became the third MP for the Labour Representation Committee (which would later become the Labour Party) and the first to win at a by-election. The textile workers' unions affiliated to the Labour Representative Committee shortly afterwards. Shackleton served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party for a period. References Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Lancashire constituencies Category:1902 elections in the United Kingdom Category:Unopposed by-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in English constituencies Category:1902 in England Category:August 1902 in the United Kingdom Category:1900s in Lancashire