1904 Reading by-election

The 1904 Reading by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 6 August 1904. 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 == George Palmer had been Liberal MP for the seat of Reading since the 1898 Reading by-election. He resigned from Parliament in 1904, due to advancing deafness. == Electoral history == Since the Reading constituency was created in 1885 it had been closely contested between Liberal and Conservative; The Conservatives winning in 1885, 1886 and 1895 and the Liberals in 1892, 1898 and 1900. The Liberal victor on each occasion was Palmer, who was a very well known biscuit manufacturer in the town. At the last election he had won narrowly; == Candidates == The local Liberal Association selected 44 year-old Rufus Isaacs as their candidate to hold the seat. Isaacs was a London barrister who had been made a QC in 1898. He was standing as a candidate for the first time. In such a marginal seat, the Liberals were taking a risk by choosing an outsider to replace a well-known local man. The local Conservative Association selected 57 year-old stockbroker Charles Keyser as their candidate. He was contesting Reading for the third time, having lost to Palmer in 1898 and 1900. There was some expectation of a socialist candidate making it a three-way contest, as had been the case in the 1898 by-election. == Campaign == Polling day was fixed for the 6 August 1904. == Result == The Liberals held the seat with an almost identical result to the previous election; == Aftermath == Keyser did not stand for parliament again. At the following General Election, Isaacs was re-elected; == References ==