1904 Isle of Thanet by-election

The 1904 Isle of Thanet by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of the Isle of Thanet on 7 October 1904, following the death of Conservative Party MP James Lowther. It was successfully defended for the Conservative party by Harry Marks.

1904 Isle of Thanet by-election
7 October 1904
 
Candidate Marks King
Party Conservative Liberal
Popular vote 4,048 3,666
Percentage 52.5% 47.5%
MP before election

James Lowther
Conservative

 Subsequent MP

Harry Marks
Conservative

Vacancy

Conservative Party MP James Lowther died on 12 September 1904, triggering a by-election to fill the vacancy.[1]

Electoral history

The Isle of Thanet seat had been held by the Conservative party since its creation in 1885. In the 1900 general election Conservative candidate James Lowther was elected unopposed.

General election 1900: Isle of Thanet [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Lowther Unopposed N/A N/A
Conservative hold

Candidates

In anticipation of a forthcoming general election, the local Liberal association, about 6 months earlier, had selected 44 year old Joseph King as their candidate. He lived in Surrey, where he had previously been elected to the county council.[3]

Campaign

The usually Conservative supporting newspaper The Times, took a position in opposition to the Conservative candidate.[4]

Result
Isle of Thanet by-election, 1904 [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Harry Marks 4,048 52.5 N/A
Liberal Joseph King 3,666 47.5 New
Majority 382 5.0 N/A
Turnout 7,714 71.3 N/A
Conservative hold Swing

Aftermath

Marks held the seat at the subsequent general election.

General election 1906: Isle of Thanet [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Harry Marks 5,154 51.3 -1.2
Liberal Joseph King 3,961 39.5 -8.0
Ind. Conservative Frederick E McCormick Goodhart 925 9.2 New
Majority 1,193 11.8 +6.8
Turnout 10,040 84.4 +13.1
Conservative hold Swing

Marks would go on to represent the constituency until retiring in 1910.

References
  1. Lucas, Reginald (2004). "Lowther, James (1840–1904)". In rev. H. C. G. Matthew (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 26 January 2007.
  2. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918, FWS Craig
  3. Black and White October 1, 1904
  4. Black and White October 1, 1904
  5. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918, FWS Craig
  6. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918, FWS Craig
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