1912 Bolton by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 The 1912 Bolton by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Bolton in Lancashire on 23 November 1912. Bolton returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. Vacancy George Harwood had been Liberal MP for the seat of Bolton since the 1895 general election. In 1912, the seat became vacant when he died on 7 November 1912 at the age of 67. Electoral history At the previous general election in December 1910, the two members elected were George Harwood for the Liberals and A. H. Gill for the Labour Party. There had been an arrangement between the Labour and Liberal parties in this seat since the time of the 1906 election when Gill was first returned. General election December 1910: BoltonBritish parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig, F. W. S. (1974) Electorate 21,341 Liberal Party (UK) George Harwood 10,358 35.5 +4.0 Labour Party (UK) Alfred Henry Gill 10,108 34.7 +4.2 Conservative Party (UK) G Hesketh 8,697 29.8 -8.2 1,661 5.7 -6.6 1,411 4.9 -6.4 29,163 89.3 -4.5 Liberal Party (UK) +6.1 Labour Party (UK) +6.2 Candidates Bolton Liberals chose 61-year-old Thomas Taylor as their candidate to defend the seat. Taylor was born in Bolton, the son of a corn merchant and was educated at the Bolton Church Institute. He was apprenticed at the age of 15 years to a firm of cotton manufacturersWho was Who OUP, 2007 - the staple industry of Bolton. He worked his way up through the ranks to become manager of the Albert, then of the Cobden Mill and later joined the Board of the company. In 1894 he resigned and set up his own company at the Saville Mill. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in Bolton in 1906 and was a member of the local Schools Board, as well as being an Examiner for Cotton Weaving for the City and Guilds in London. The Unionists changed their candidate and fielded Arthur Brooks, who had not contested a parliamentary election before. He was a retired schoolmaster from nearby Burnley but had moved to Bolton and had been elected to Bolton Town Council.Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 15 Nov 1912 The Labour Party agreed not to stand a candidate in the by-election. There was talk of two Socialist candidates standing. Thomas William Stewart, a member of the Free Thought Socialist League and a lecturer backed by wealthy London friends announced his candidature. Then another Socialist, Bolton resident Joseph Leach, the National Secretary of the Industrial Socialist Party, announced he was standing.Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 19 Nov 1912 However, neither could gain the support of any significant Socialist branches in the Bolton area. Campaign Polling Day was set for 23 November, just 16 days after the death of Harwood. The Bolton Trades Council gave support to the Liberal Taylor's candidacy, with a manifesto issued warning of a "Tory conspiracy to smash the trade unions". The Welsh Church Bill featured in the campaign with Brooks pledging himself to oppose it, hoping this might gain him some Church of England support. The dominant issue of the campaign was the Unionist policy of Tariff Reform which had never been popular among those involved in the Lancashire cotton industry. This helped the Liberal Taylor, who was an advocate of Free Trade and against the Unionist Brooks, who supported protectionism. Result There was an unexpectedly heavy turnout of about 90%. The result of the poll was declared shortly after ten o'clock. Bolton by-election, 1912British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig, F. W. S. (1974) Electorate Liberal Party (UK) Thomas Taylor 10,011 53.1 +17.6 Unionist Party (UK) Arthur Brooks 8,835 46.9 +17.1 1,176 6.2 +0.5 18,846 circa 90.0 -0.4 Liberal Party (UK) Despite the slight decrease in Liberal vote and majority, the local Liberals seemed genuinely pleased at retaining a four figure majority. Taylor put his victory down to "the unalterable determination of the working people of Lancashire to have nothing to do with Tariff Reform", which he predicted would raise the price of food and "bring starvation again into [working class] homes". After the poll, The Times tried to undermine the Liberal victory and explain away the Unionist defeat by stating; “It is probable that this (Trades Council) manifesto had the effect of turning the full tide of the labour vote in favour of the Liberal candidate. And the labour vote decided the election.” Even the defeated Brooks agreed that the labour vote went solidly to the Liberals because of their “distorted” version of Tariff Reform.The Times 25 November 1912 Aftermath Two months later the Unionists decided to drop their tariff reform policies. Taylor sat as MP until resigning shortly before his death in 1916. The Liberals won the 1916 Bolton by-election. Brooks did not stand for parliament again. References Category:1912 elections in the United Kingdom Category:1912 in England Category:1910s in Lancashire Category:Elections in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Greater Manchester constituencies Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Lancashire constituencies Category:November 1912 in the United Kingdom