1911 Bethnal Green South West by-election

UK Politics April 2022 1911 Bethnal Green South West by-election presidential United Kingdom Bethnal Green South West (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s Dec. 1910 1914 Bethnal Green South West by-election 1914 29 July 1911 Masterman 65px Liberal Party (UK) 2,745 50.4% Hoffgaard Conservative Party (UK) 2,561 47.1% Scurr 65px Labour Party (UK) 134 2.5% File:BethnalGreenSouthWest1885.png 250px MP Subsequent MP Edward Pickersgill Liberal Party (UK) Mathew Wilson Unionist Party (UK) The 1911 Bethnal Green South West by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 29 July 1911.Craig F.W.S. 1987 Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987 Chichester Parliamentary Research Services 105 It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. Vacancy Edward Pickersgill, the sitting Liberal MP for Bethnal Green South West, resigned from the House of Commons in July 1911; in order to take up a post as a stipendary magistrate.Obituary: Mr. E. H. Pickersgill The Times 14 October 1911 9 Electoral history Pickersgill had been the MP for Bethnal Green South West since 1906, having previously represented the seat from its creation in 1885 until 1900. During the six-year period where Pickersgill did not represent the seat, it was represented by a Conservative. At the previous general election in December 1910, Pickersgill had been comfortably re-elected with a majority of 682 votes. thumb|120px|Pickersgill General Election December 1910 British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig Liberal Party (UK) Edward Pickersgill 2,768 57.0 -1.6 Conservative Party (UK) Eric Alfred Hoffgaard 2,086 43.0 +1.6 682 14.0 -3.2 4,854 68.3 -11.6 Liberal Party (UK) -1.6 Candidates Following Pickersgill's re-election in December 1910, he had informed his local Liberal Association that he planned to leave politics to become a magistrate. In anticipation of Pickersgill's resignation, the local association selected Percy Harris as their candidate. Harris had previously stood as a Liberal Party candidate for parliament elsewhere on two occasions. However, he was a local man who had represented the constituency on the London County Council since 1907. Charles Masterman had been Liberal MP for West Ham North until he was forced out by the courts early in 1911 when his December 1910 victory was declared void. Despite this disruption to his parliamentary status, he had continued in the government post of Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department. During this period, he was responsible for the passage through parliament of the National Insurance Act 1911. The Liberal Party leadership was keen to get Masterman back into parliament as soon as possible. They told Pickersgill that his appointment as a magistrate was conditional upon him supporting Masterman rather than Harris as his successor. The party leadership and Pickergill put pressure on Harris to withdraw as candidate in favour of Masterman, which he did.Forty Years in and out of Parliament by Sir Percy HarrisDictionary of Liberal Biography Eric Hoffgaard, who had been the Conservative Party candidate at the previous general election, was again selected to contest the seat. An Australian-born socialist John Scurr made it a three-way fight. When Masterman was selected as the official Liberal candidate, some of Harris' supporters decided to campaign in support of Scurr. Campaign Polling Day was fixed for the 29 July. Result The Liberals retained the seat with a decreased majority: thumb|120px|Masterman Bethnal Green South West By-Election 1911 Liberal Party (UK) Charles Masterman 2,745 50.4 -6.6 Conservative Party (UK) Eric Alfred Hoffgaard 2,561 47.1 +4.1 Independent Labour John Scurr 134 2.5 New 184 3.3 -10.7 5,440 76.8 +8.5 Liberal Party (UK) -5.3 Aftermath In February 1914, Masterman was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and required to resign and fight another by-election and this time was defeated. Bethnal Green South West By-Election 1914 Unionist Party (UK) Mathew Wilson 2,828 47.6 +0.5 Liberal Party (UK) Charles Masterman 2,804 47.1 -3.3 Socialist Party John Scurr 316 5.3 +2.8 24 0.5 N/A 5,948 83.5 +6.7 Unionist Party (UK) Liberal Party (UK) +1.9 References Bethnal Green South West by-election Bethnal Green South West by-election Bethnal Green South West,1911 Bethnal Green South West,1911 Category:Bethnal Green Bethnal Green South West by-election