1907 North West Staffordshire by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 1907 North West Staffordshire by-election presidential United Kingdom North West Staffordshire (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1900s 1906 North West Staffordshire (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s Jan. 1910 31 July 1907 Stanley 85px Liberal Party (UK) 7,396 59.4% Twyford 85px Conservative Party (UK) 5,047 40.6% 250px MP Subsequent MP Alfred Billson Liberal Party (UK) Albert Stanley Liberal Party (UK) The 1907 North West Staffordshire by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 31 July 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 caused by the death of Sir Alfred Billson on 9 July 1907. He had been Liberal MP for the seat of North West Staffordshire since the 1906 general election. In June 1907 he was knighted in King Edward VII's Birthday Honours List although he did not live to receive the accolade. He died suddenly in the House of Commons when he collapsed in the 'Aye' lobby while casting his vote on sugar duty legislation, aged 68.https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1907/jul/09/death-of-sir-a-billson Death of Sir A. Billson Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) 9 July 1907Sudden Death of Sir Alfred Billson Shrewsbury Chronicle 12 July 1907 7Billson's home was in Shropshire. Electoral history The seat had been gained by the Liberals in 1906. At the previous four elections a Conservative had won and a Liberal had not previously won since 1885, before the party split over Irish Home Rule. thumb|120px|Alfred Billson General election 1906: North West StaffordshireLiberal Year Book, 1908 Liberal Party (UK) Alfred Billson 7,667 58.0 +15.5 Conservative Party (UK) James Heath 5,557 42.0 -15.5 2,110 16.0 N/A 13,224 85.8 +12.0 Liberal Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) +15.5 Candidates The previous Conservative MP who Billson had defeated in 1906, Sir James Heath, now aged 55, declined an offer to contest the seat for his party, so the Conservatives chose 58-year-old local man Thomas Twyford as their candidate."Election Intelligence." Times [London, England] 11 July 1907: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. He was Chairman of Twyfords of Hanley, Staffordshire, who built bathroom fittings. In 1906 he served as High Sheriff of Staffordshire. He was standing for parliament for the first time.‘TWYFORD, Thomas William’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 6 April 2015 The local Liberal Association selected 44-year-old Albert Stanley, another local man, to defend the seat. He was Secretary of the Midland Counties Miners' Federation. He was also standing for parliament for the first time. He did have some experience as a candidate having been elected to Staffordshire County Council.‘STANLEY, Albert’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 6 April 2015 His candidature was sponsored by the Midland Counties Miners' Federation who agreed to fund his campaign. A third candidate, a Mr Hunnable, declared his candidature. However, when the deadline came for submitting nominations, there was none for him.Tamworth Herald, Staffordshire, 27 Jul 1907 Campaign Polling Day was fixed for the 31 July 1907, just 22 days after the death of the previous MP, making for a very short campaign. Twyford, the Conservative candidate, was a supporter of tariff reform. He sought to attract votes from local miners by claiming he supported their campaign for an eight-hour working day.Election Intelligence." Times [London, England] 18 July 1907: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. Stanley, the Liberal candidate supported free trade and Irish Home Rule. He hoped to win the backing of the overwhelming majority of the 5,000 miners living in the constituency. Stanley's campaign was supported by a number of Liberal MPs including those sponsored by trade unions. He did not receive any help from Labour Party MPs."Election Intelligence." Times [London, England] 15 July-2 Aug. 1907: 5. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. Result The Liberals held the seat and managed a slightly increased majority; thumb|120px|Albert Stanley 1907 North West Staffordshire by-electionLiberal Year Book, 1908 Liberal Party (UK) Albert Stanley 7,396 59.4 +1.4 Conservative Party (UK) Thomas Twyford 5,047 40.6 -1.4 2,349 18.8 +2.8 12,443 79.1 -6.7 Liberal Party (UK) +1.4 Stanley attributed his victory to the "perfect union" of Liberal and Labour forces. Twyford blamed his defeat on his failure to attract miners' votes."Election Intelligence." Times [London, England] 2 Aug. 1907: 5. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. Aftermath Stanley was opposed to the miners affiliating to the Labour Party. When in 1909 the Miners Federation of Great Britain voted to affiliate, although a lifelong Liberal,http://www.dawleyheritage.co.uk/ Dawley's heritage : Dawley Heritage www.dawleyheritage.co.uk he agreed to seek re-election as a Labour Party candidate. General election January 1910: North West StaffordshireDebrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916 Labour Party (UK) Albert Stanley 8,566 59.8 +0.4 Conservative Party (UK) Gilbert Nugent 5,754 40.2 -0.4 2,812 19.6 +0.8 14,320 86.8 +7.8 Labour Party (UK) +0.4 References Category:History of Staffordshire North West Staffordshire by-election North West Staffordshire by-election North West Staffordshire by-election Category:Politics of Staffordshire Category:20th century in Staffordshire Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Staffordshire constituencies