1903 Lewisham by-election

By-election in the UK April 2022 1903 Lewisham by-election presidential United Kingdom Lewisham (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1900s 1900 Lewisham (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1900s 1906 15 December 1903 Coates 85px Conservative Party (UK) 7,709 57.5% Cleland 85px Liberal Party (UK) 5,697 42.5% File:Lewisham1885.png 250px MP Subsequent MP John Penn Conservative Party (UK) Edward Coates Conservative Party (UK)The 1903 Lewisham by-election was a by-election held on 15 December 1903 for the British House of Commons constituency of Lewisham. The by-election was triggered by the death of the serving Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP), John Penn. The Unionist candidate was Major Edward Coates. The Liberal Party candidate was James William Cleland. As with the Dulwich by-election held on the same day, the main issue was tariff reform and Joseph Chamberlain's proposals for Imperial Preference. A factor which made the result of the by election difficult to predict was that the seat had not been contested since 1892 and in that time the population had doubled in size. The additional residents, according to the Times, were mainly "City men, with comparatively small incomes".The Times 3 December 1903 In the event, the result was a comfortable win for the Unionist candidate. Result Lewisham by-election, 1903Flowing Tide for Unionism - Lewisham Sheffield Telegraph 18 January 1910 5 January 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000250/19100118/149/0007 British Newspaper Archive subscription Conservative Party (UK) Edward Coates 7,709 57.5 N/A Liberal Party (UK) James William Cleland 5,697 42.5 New 2,012 15.0 N/A 13,406 71.7 N/A Conservative Party (UK) References The Times, 16 December 1903 See also List of United Kingdom by-elections Lewisham constituency Lewisham,1903 Lewisham by-election Lewisham,1903 Lewisham by-election Category:December 1903 in the United Kingdom