1911 Horncastle by-election

By-election in the United Kingdom November 2019 June 2025 The 1911 Horncastle by-election was a UK parliamentary by-election held on 16 February 1911 in the constituency of Horncastle in Lincolnshire. It was triggered upon the succession to the peerage of the sitting Member of Parliament, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, and was won by Archibald Weigall of the Conservative Party. Vacancy Lord Willoughby, who had held the seat since 1895, succeeded to the peerage on the death of his father, Lord Ancaster. The by-election was called for 16 February 1911. Result last time General election December 1910: Electorate 10,327 Conservative Party (UK) Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby 4,705 52.9 -1.7 Liberal Party (UK) Frederick Linfield 4,181 47.1 +1.7 524 5.8 -3.4 8,886 86.0 -4.0 Conservative Party (UK) -1.6 Candidates The new Conservative candidate Captain Archibald Weigall, had fought the nearby seat of Gainsborough at the December 1910 general election. Frederick Linfield was formally re-adopted as Liberal candidate on 5 January 1911. Result Given the Unionist hold on the seat in recent times and an analysis of the past results and new voters on the roll enabled the correspondent of The Times newspaper to forecast correctly that the Unionists would hold the seat. However, there was a swing to the Liberals that nearly resulted in a gain. Horncastle by-election, 1911: Horncastle Electorate 10,8047 Conservative Party (UK) Archibald Weigall 4,955 50.5 -2.4 Liberal Party (UK) Frederick Linfield 4,848 49.5 +2.4 107 1.0 -4.8 9,803 90.7 +4.7 Conservative Party (UK) -2.4 Aftermath Weigall was re-elected in 1918 before taking up an appointment as Governor of South Australia. Linfield did not contest the 1918 elections but was successful in 1922 at Mid Bedfordshire. General election 1918 Electorate 23,764 Unionist Party (UK) Archibald Weigall 8,826 54.3 +3.8 Liberal Party (UK) Samuel Pattinson 7,433 45.7 -3.8 1,393 8.6 +7.6 16,259 68.2 -22.5 Unionist Party (UK) References Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. 0-900178-06-X. Category:1911 in England Category:1911 elections in the United Kingdom Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Lincolnshire constituencies Category:Horncastle Category:February 1911 in the United Kingdom