1908 Newcastle-upon-Tyne by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 1908 Newcastle-upon-Tyne by-election presidential United Kingdom Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1900s 1906 Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s Jan. 1910 25 September 1908 Renwick 65px Conservative Party (UK) 13,863 48.5% Shortt 65px Liberal Party (UK) 11,720 41.1% Hartley 64px Social Democratic Federation 2,971 10.4% 250px MP Subsequent MP Thomas Cairns Liberal Party (UK) Edward Shortt Liberal Party (UK) The 1908 Newcastle-upon-Tyne by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 25 September 1908.Craig F.W.S. 1987 Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987 Chichester Parliamentary Research Services 102 The constituency returned two Members of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. Vacancy Thomas Cairns had been Liberal MP for the seat of Newcastle-upon-Tyne since the 1906 general election. He died on 3 September 1908. Electoral history The seat had been Liberal since they gained it in 1906; General election January 1906British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 Labour Representation Committee (1900) Walter Hudson 18,869 31.1 New Liberal Party (UK) Thomas Cairns 18,423 30.5 +9.8 Conservative Party (UK) Walter Richard Plummer 11,942 19.8 -9.9 Conservative Party (UK) George Renwick 11,223 18.6 -10.4 6,927 11.3 N/A Labour Representation Committee (1900) Conservative Party (UK) 6,481 10.7 N/A Liberal Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) +9.9 50,457 84.6 +10.5 Candidates thumb|120px|Edward Shortt The local Liberal Association selected 46-year-old Edward Shortt to defend the seat. The son of a Newcastle upon Tyne Church of England vicar, he was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1890 and practised on the North Eastern Circuit. He had served as Recorder (part-time judge) of Sunderland since 1907.Who's Who The Conservatives retained 58-year-old George Renwick as their candidate. Renwick was elected to Parliament in 1900 as Conservative member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, serving from 1900 until his defeat in 1906. Renwick was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. He joined shipowners Pyman, Bell & Co as a clerk and then co-founded his own business, Fisher, Renwick & Co. He had particularly large interests in drydocks, including the world's first ever floating repair docks, the Tyne Pontoons at Wallsend, which he sold to Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd in 1903. thumb|Una Duval, suffragette, campaigning at the by-election The Newcastle Independent Labour Party selected J. J. Stephenson as a candidate. This was in conflict with the electoral alliance that had existed between the Liberal and Labour parties. However, the Labour Party National Executive persuaded the Labour candidate to withdraw. The Social Democratic Federation, with the support of some local Independent Labour Party branches, then nominated their own candidate, 53-year-old Bradford man, Edward Hartley.A Liberal Chronicle: Journals and Papers of J.A. Pease Hartley had fought Bradford East at the last general election, finishing third. Before that he had fought Dewsbury at the 1895 general election and then the 1902 Dewsbury by-election. Campaign Polling day was fixed for the 25 September 1908, just 22 days after the death of the previous MP. The constituency included at least 2,000 Irish voters, mainly Roman Catholics, who could normally be relied upon to vote Liberal. However, the Liberals banned the carrying of the Host in the Eucharistic Congress Procession in London earlier in the month, which was expected to cost them votes in Newcastle. The SDF candidate antagonised the ILP and the local suffragists by refusing to pledge himself to oppose any future franchise reform restricted to manhood suffrage. Result The Conservatives gained the seat; Newcastle-upon-Tyne by-election, 1908 Conservative Party (UK) George Renwick 13,863 48.5 +7.1 Liberal Party (UK) Edward Shortt 11,720 41.1 +10.6 Social Democratic Federation Edward Hartley 2,971 10.4 New 2,143 7.4 N/A 28,554 76.4 -8.2 Conservative Party (UK) Liberal Party (UK) -1.8 Aftermath Shortt re-gained the seat from Renwick at the following general election. Hartley returned to Bradford where he was again defeated at Bradford East; General election January 1910 Liberal Party (UK) Edward Shortt 18,779 28.9 -1.6 Labour Party (UK) Walter Hudson 18,241 28.0 -3.1 Conservative Party (UK) Walter Richard Plummer 14,067 21.6 +1.8 Conservative Party (UK) George Renwick 13,928 21.4 +2.8 4,712 7.3 N/A Liberal Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) -1.7 4,313 6.6 -4.7 Labour Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) -2.9 65,015 86.1 +1.5 References Newcastle-upon-Tyne by-election Newcastle-upon-Tyne by-election Newcastle-upon-Tyne by-election Category:20th century in Newcastle upon Tyne Category:Elections in Newcastle upon Tyne Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Northumberland constituencies