1905 Elgin Burghs by-election

The Elgin Burghs by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 8 September 1905.[1] 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

Alexander Asher had been Liberal MP for the seat of Elgin Burghs since the 1881 Elgin Burghs by-election. He died on 5 August 1905, causing a by-election.[2]

Electoral history

The seat had been Liberal since the party was founded in 1859. They easily held the seat at the last election, with a comfortable majority;

Alexander Asher
General election 1900: Elgin Burghs[3] Electorate 4,535
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Alexander Asher 1,744 59.5 -2.0
Conservative John Moffat 1,187 40.5 +2.0
Majority 557 19.0 -4.0
Turnout 2,931 64.6 -3.3
Liberal hold Swing

Candidates
  • On 17 August the local Liberal Association selected 51-year-old John Sutherland as their candidate to defend the seat.[4] He had not stood for Parliament before. He was born in nearby Lossiemouth.[5] He was educated at Aberdeen University.[6] He was a partner in the firm of J & P Sutherland, fish curers of Portsoy.[7]
  • The local Conservative Association selected 52-year-old Patrick Rose-Innes as their candidate to gain the seat.[8] He also had not stood for Parliament before. He was born in Aberdeenshire and educated at Aberdeen University. He had been a barrister since 1878.[9]

Campaign

Polling day was fixed for 8 September 1905, 34 days after the death of the previous MP.

Result

There was a large swing of over 11% to the Liberals who comfortably held the seat:

Elgin Burghs by-election, 1905[10] Electorate 4,748
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Sutherland 2,474 70.8 +11.3
Conservative Patrick Rose-Innes 1,021 29.2 -11.3
Majority 1,458 41.6 +22.6
Turnout 3,495 73.6 +9.0
Liberal hold Swing +11.3

The result was the biggest victory that the Liberals had ever had in the constituency.

Aftermath

Sutherland was re-elected at the following General Election. The result was:

General election 1906: Elgin Burghs [11] Electorate 4,867
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Sutherland 2,742 77.7 +6.9
Conservative E.N.B. Mackenzie 786 22.3 -6.9
Majority 1,956 55.4 +13.8
Turnout 3,528 72.5 -1.1
Liberal hold Swing +6.9

Rose-Innes was not his opponent and instead contested West Lothian in 1906, the 1907 Jarrow by-election and Middleton in 1910 without success. Sutherland remained as the MP until his death in 1918.

References
  1. Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 99.
  2. 'ASHER, Alexander', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, April 2014 accessed 13 May 2014
  3. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
  4. "Election Intelligence." The Times. London, England. 18 August 1905. p. 5. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 May 2014.
  5. The Times, 19 August 1918
  6. The Times, House of Commons, 1910; Politico's Publishing 2004, p. 94
  7. The Times, 19 August 1918
  8. "News in Brief." Times [London, England] 8 Aug. 1905: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 May 2014.
  9. 'ROSE-INNES, His Honour Sir Patrick', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 13 May 2014
  10. The Times, 11 September 1905, p. 4
  11. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
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