1900 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election

UK parliamentary by-election January 2020 1900 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election presidential United Kingdom 1896 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election 1896 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1900s 1900 3 May 1900 Sir John Batty Tuke 60px Conservative Party (UK) MP Subsequent MP Priestley Conservative Party (UK) Tuke Conservative Party (UK) The 1900 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in Scotland on 3 May 1900 for the UK House of Commons constituency of Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities.Craig F.W.S. 1987 Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987 Chichester Parliamentary Research Services 93 As a university constituency, the constituency had no geographical basis. Instead, its electorate consisted of the graduates of Edinburgh University and St Andrews University. Vacancy The by-election was held to fill the vacancy caused by the death on 11 April 1900 of 70-year-old Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) Sir William Overend Priestley. An eminent obstetrician, Priestley had held the seat since a by-election in May 1896. Candidates The Conservative Party selected as its candidate the 65-year-old Sir John Batty Tuke. He was a Yorkshire-born, Edinburgh-educated, pioneering psychiatrist based at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, who had been knighted in 1898. Nomination day was set as Thursday 3 May, but the seat had last been contested at the 1885 general election. The Conservatives did not expect a contest in the by-election, and speculation that the novelist J. M. Barrie would stand as a Liberal Party candidate ended on 30 April when Barrie sent a telegram declining nomination. Result The nomination process was held in the Senate Hall of the University of Edinburgh on 3 May 1900, where the Principal Sir William Muir presided over a gathering of only about 20 people. Tuke was nominated by Professor Thomas Annandale of Edinburgh, and seconded by Professor Scott Lang of the University of St Andrews. No other candidate was nominated, so Tuke was declared elected. Aftermath Tuke was re-elected unopposed at the general election in September/October 1900. At the 1906 general election, he was re-elected in a two-way contest with John Strachey (journalist), a Free Trader. He stood down at the January 1910 general election. See also List of United Kingdom by-elections Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities constituency 1873 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election 1888 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election 1890 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election 1896 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election 1916 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election 1917 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election References 35em https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS68478604/TTDA Obituary: Sir William Priestley The Times 12 April 1900 36114 4 subscription The Times Digital Archive 15 January 2020 London, England https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS84862611/TTDA Election Intelligence: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities The Times 19 April 1900 36120 5 subscription The Times Digital Archive 15 January 2020 London, England https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS153806494/TTDA Election Intelligence: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities The Times 30 April 1900 36129 9 subscription The Times Digital Archive 15 January 2020 London, England https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS120252065/TTDA Election Intelligence: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities The Times 1 May 1900 36130 7 subscription The Times Digital Archive 15 January 2020 London, England https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS102819492/TTDA Election Intelligence: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities The Times 4 May 1900 36133 6 subscription The Times Digital Archive 15 January 2020 London, England Craig F. W. S. F. W. S. Craig British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 1989 2nd 1983 Parliamentary Research Services Chichester 0-900178-27-2 571 Category:1900 elections in the United Kingdom Category:1900 in Scotland Category:1900s elections in Scotland Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities Category:Unopposed by-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies Category:May 1900 in the United Kingdom