1905 Mile End by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 1905 Mile End by-election presidential United Kingdom Mile End (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1900s 1900 Mile End (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1900s 1906 12 January 1905 Levy-Lawson 85px Unionist Party (UK) 2,138 50.9% Straus 85px Liberal Party (UK) 2,060 49.1% MileEnd1885.png 250px MP Subsequent MP Spencer Charrington Conservative Party (UK) Bertram Straus Liberal Party (UK) The 1905 Mile End by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 12 January 1905.Craig F.W.S. 1987 Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987 Chichester Parliamentary Research Services 99 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 Spencer Charrington had been Conservative MP for the seat of Mile End since the seat's creation at the 1885 general election. He died on 11 December 1904. Electoral history Charrington easily held the seat at the last election, with an increased majority: thumb|120px|left|Charrington General election 1900: Mile EndCraig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan. Conservative Party (UK) Spencer Charrington 2,440 65.6 +4.5 Liberal Party (UK) Charles Clarke 1,280 34.4 -4.5 1,160 31.2 +9.0 3,720 62.9 -7.3 Conservative Party (UK) +4.5 Candidates The local Unionist Association selected 43-year-old Liberal Unionist Harry Levy-Lawson as their candidate to defend the seat. He was the son and heir of Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham. Levy-Lawson was looking to make a return to parliament after a break of ten years. He had sat as a Liberal for St Pancras West from 1885 to 1892 and for Cirencester from 1893 until his defeat in 1895. He had also sat on the London County Council representing St Pancras West from 1889 to 1892. With a general election expected to take place in the near future, Charles Clarke, who had been the Liberal candidate last time had been selected to contest the seat of Peckham. The local Liberal Association had to choose a new candidate and selected 38-year-old businessman Bertram Straus as their candidate to challenge for the seat. Straus was well known in the constituency as he was one of the two sitting members who represented Mile End on the London County Council. In fact Strauss had represented Mile End since 1898, winning three elections in the process. Straus also had experience of fighting parliamentary elections having contested Marylebone West at the 1900 general election.‘STRAUS, Bertram Stuart’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 8 Feb 2014 The Social Democratic Federation wanted to contest the election but could not secure a willing candidate."Election Intelligence." Times [London] 2 Jan. 1905: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. Campaign Polling Day was fixed for the 12 January 1905, just 32 days after the previous MP died. The Unionist Governments aborted 1904 Aliens Bill featured in the campaign. The Unionist campaign put the Aliens Bill at the centre of their plans."Election Intelligence." Times [London] 13 Jan. 1905: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. The Liberal candidate, Straus, who had at first followed party policy in opposing it, later sought to distance himself from the position the Liberal party took in opposing the measure. He declared that he was in favour of excluding "undesirable" aliens.Illustrated London News 21 Jan. 1905: 80. Illustrated London News. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. This was understood to target Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe. There was quite a large Jewish community in Mile End. Given that Straus was himself a Jew, this might have seemed an odd position for him to take. There had in fact been a reduction of over 500 voters in Mile End compared with the figures of 1900. Result The Liberal Unionist Levy-Lawson held the seat for the government: thumb|120px|Levy-Lawson Mile End by-election, 1905Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan. Liberal Unionist Party Harry Levy-Lawson 2,138 50.9 -14.7 Liberal Party (UK) Bertram Straus 2,060 49.1 +14.7 78 1.8 -29.4 4,198 78.0 +15.1 Liberal Unionist Party -14.7 Straus revealed that he felt that Liberal party opposition to the Aliens Bill may have robbed him of the chance to pull off a sensational victory.Illustrated London News 21 Jan. 1905: 80. Illustrated London News. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. The Unionist government was able to force through the Aliens Act 1905 later that year. Aftermath When a general election was held in the following year, Straus again faced Levy-Lawson at Mile End and managed to unseat him to become Member of Parliament. thumb|120px|Straus General election 1906: Mile EndCraig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan. Liberal Party (UK) Bertram Straus 2,295 51.4 +2.3 Liberal Unionist Party Harry Levy-Lawson 2,169 48.6 -2.3 126 2.8 N/A 4,464 82.4 +4.4 Liberal Party (UK) Liberal Unionist Party +2.3 References Mile End by-election Mile End by-election Mile End,1905 Mile End,1905 Category:Mile End