1907 Banffshire by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 The 1907 Banffshire by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 16 February 1907.Craig F.W.S. 1987 Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987 Chichester Parliamentary Research Services 101 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 The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Liberal MP, Alexander William Black on 29 December 1906. He died from injuries received in the Elliot Junction rail accident,Election Intelligence. Banffshire 31 December 1906 The Times 9 London forcing a by-election early in 1907. Electoral history Black had been Liberal MP for the seat of Banffshire since the 1900 General Election. The seat had been Liberal since they gained it in 1837. They had easily held the seat at the last election, with an increased majority; thumb|120px|Alexander Black General Election 1906: BanffshireWhitaker's Almanack, 1907 Liberal Party (UK) Alexander William Black 4,101 68.3 +15.5 Conservative Party (UK) James Augustus Grant 1,901 31.7 -15.5 2,200 36.6 +31.0 6,002 73.9 +9.7 Liberal Party (UK) +15.5 Candidates The local Liberal Association selected 31-year-old Walter Waring to defend the seat. Waring was the son of Charles Waring, former Liberal Member of Parliament for Poole. He was unsuccessful Liberal candidate in Wigtownshire in the 1906 general election. The Conservatives chose 39-year-old William Whitelaw as their candidate. Whitelaw was elected at the 1892 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Perth, but lost his seat at the 1895 general election and was defeated when he stood again in 1900.Craig F. W. S. F. W. S. Craig British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 1974 2nd 1989 Parliamentary Research Services Chichester 0-900178-27-2 518 He was a director of the Highland Railway (HR) since 1898,Hughes Geoffrey LNER 1987 1986 Guild Publishing/Book Club Associates London CN 1455 14 and Chairman of the HR since 1902. Campaign Polling Day was fixed for 16 February 1907. Result The Liberals held the seat with a slightly reduced majority; thumb|120px|Walter Waring 1907 Banffshire by-electionThe Times, 19 Feb 1907 Liberal Party (UK) Walter Waring 3,901 67.3 -1.0 Conservative Party (UK) William Whitelaw 1,892 32.7 +1.0 2,009 34.6 -2.0 5,793 70.8 -3.1 Liberal Party (UK) -1.0 The Liberal vote share of 67.3%, though less than in 1906, was higher than any other Liberal vote share since before 1885. Aftermath Waring was re-elected at the following general election against a new Conservative opponent; General Election Jan 1910: Banffshire Liberal Party (UK) Walter Waring 4,066 66.4 -1.9 Conservative Party (UK) James Crabb Watt 2,053 33.6 +1.9 2,013 32.8 -3.8 6,119 74.8 +0.9 Liberal Party (UK) -1.9 Whitelaw did not stand for parliament again. References Banffshire by-election Category:1900s elections in Scotland Banffshire by-election Banffshire by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies