1912 Crewe by-election

UK parliamentary by-election October 2019 June 2025 1912 Crewe by-election presidential United Kingdom Crewe (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s Dec. 1910 Crewe (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s 1918 26 July 1912 Craig 65px Unionist Party (UK) 6,260 44.6% Murphy Liberal Party (UK) 5,294 37.7% Holmes 65px Labour Party (UK) 2,485 17.7% 250px MP Subsequent MP Walter McLaren Liberal Party (UK) Joseph Davies Liberal Party (UK) The 1912 Crewe by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 26 July 1912.Craig F.W.S. 1987 Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987 Chichester Parliamentary Research Services 107 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 Walter McLaren had been Liberal MP for the seat of Crewe since the April 1910 By-Election. In 1912, he died causing the vacancy. History thumb|120px|McLaren General election December 1910 Liberal Party (UK) Walter McLaren 7,629 56.3 +0.5 Liberal Unionist Party (UK) Ernest Craig 5,925 43.7 -0.5 1,704 12.6 +1.0 13,554 85.4 -0.8 Liberal Party (UK) +0.5 The Liberal Party had won every election in Crewe, since the seat was created in 1885 apart from the 1895 election, when a Conservative won. Candidates The Liberal candidate was 30-year-old Harold Lawson Murphy, a lecturer in Political Economy in Trinity College Dublin. He had trained as a solicitor and was secretary to the Liberal Cabinet Minister, Sir John Simon. The Unionist candidate was Ernest Craig, who had been the unsuccessful Liberal Unionist candidate here in December 1910. The Labour Party, who had not fielded a candidate in December 1910 having fielded a candidate in January 1910, decided to re-enter the contest. Their candidate was James Holmes who was a member of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants. Given the intervention of the Labour Party, the result of the previous three-way contest is relevant; General election January 1910 Liberal Party (UK) James Tomkinson 7,761 53.3 -6.3 Liberal Unionist Party (UK) John Lane Harrington 5,419 37.2 -3.2 Labour Party (UK) Frank Herbert Rose 1,380 9.5 New 2,342 16.1 -3.1 14,560 91.8 +4.7 Liberal Party (UK) -1.6 Result Crewe by-election, 1912 Unionist Party (UK) Ernest Craig 6,260 44.6 +0.9 Liberal Party (UK) Harold Lawson Murphy 5,294 37.7 -18.6 Labour Party (UK) James Holmes 2,485 17.7 New 966 6.9 N/A 14,039 88.1 +2.7 Unionist Party (UK) Liberal Party (UK) +9.8 The intervention of the Labour candidate took enough votes from the Liberal candidate to help the Unionist candidate win. Aftermath A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the autumn of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election; Unionist: Ernest Craig Liberal: Joseph Davies Following the by-election the Labour Party decided to re-adopt Holmes as their prospective parliamentary candidate. The National Union of Railwaymen agreed to be his sponsor. However Holmes was concerned that another election where the progressive vote was split would result in another Unionist victory. He called for the Labour and Liberal parties to come to some sort of electoral arrangement as had been the practice in the past. In response, the Labour Party decided to drop him as prospective candidate."Labour And Liberalism." Times [London, England] 13 Mar. 1914: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place. Joseph Davies, who had been adopted as Liberal candidate back in 1913 was a supporter of David Lloyd George and in 1918 was granted the 'Coalition Coupon'. As a result, Ernest Craig withdrew and did not defend the seat he had won 6 years earlier. thumb|120px|Davies General election 1918: Crewe Liberal Party (UK) Joseph Davies 13,392 56.2 +18.5 Labour Party (UK) James Thomas Brownlie 10,439 43.8 +26.1 2,953 12.4 N/A 23,831 68.4 -19.7 Liberal Party (UK) Unionist Party (UK) -3.8 References Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan. The Social and Economic Development of Crewe, 1780-1923 by William Henry Chaloner [1950] The Socialist review - Volume 10 - [1913] Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com Debrett's House of Commons 1916 Category:1912 elections in the United Kingdom Category:1912 in England Category:20th century in Cheshire Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Cheshire constituencies Category:Crewe Category:July 2012 in the United Kingdom