1908 Wolverhampton East by-election

The 1908 Wolverhampton East by-election was held on 5 May 1908. The by-election was held due to the elevation to the peerage of the incumbent Liberal MP, Henry Fowler, who became Viscount Wolverhampton. It was won by the Liberal candidate George Rennie Thorne.[1]

1908 Wolverhampton East

5 May 1908
 
Candidate Thorne Amery
Party Liberal Liberal Unionist
Popular vote 4,514 4,506
Percentage 50.0% 50.0%

MP before election

Henry Fowler
Liberal

Subsequent MP

George Rennie Thorne
Liberal

Background

Thorne, who had stood unsuccessfully for election twice in the South and West divisions of Wolverhampton, seemed in nearly every way the stereotypical Liberal of his day; a pronounced nonconformist, a Baptist,[2] in a constituency where there were many nonconformist voters.[3] In his election meetings and literature he declared himself a supporter of free trade, the proposed Bill on Old Age Pensions, restricting to eight the hours that miners could be made to work daily, women’s suffrage, Irish Home Rule and any necessary reform of the House of Lords.[4] He was also strongly in favour of temperance and a supporter of the disestablishment of the Church of England.[2] Fowler had been unopposed in two of the previous four elections, and had won the last, in 1906, with more than two thirds of the votes cast, a majority of 2,865.[5]

Fowler
General election 1906: Wolverhampton East [6][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Fowler 5,610 67.1
Liberal Unionist Leo Amery 2,745 32.9
Majority 2,865 34.2
Turnout 8,355 85.6
Liberal hold Swing

Result

Thorne won the by-election by a majority of just eight votes from the Unionist candidate Leo Amery, who had lost to Fowler in 1906.

Thorne
Wolverhampton East by-election, 1908 [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Rennie Thorne 4,514 50.0 -17.1
Liberal Unionist Leo Amery 4,506 50.0 +17.1
Majority 8 0.0 -34.2
Turnout 9,020 89.7 +4.1
Liberal hold Swing -17.1

One of reasons it was such a narrow margin was the policy of the Suffragists at this time to oppose the candidates of the Liberal government because they would not bring in a Bill to provide votes for women. This was despite the individual views of the candidates, many of whom, like Thorne, were pro-women’s suffrage. A Mrs Lois Dawson, who had incorrectly been placed on the electoral register as Louis Dawson, was allowed to vote by a surprised polling station presiding officer, as she was clearly on the electoral roll.[2] Her vote was allowed to stand, although had there been a court scrutiny of the election result it would almost certainly have been rejected.[8]

Aftermath

General election January 1910: Wolverhampton East [9][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Rennie Thorne 5,276 54.2 +4.2
Liberal Unionist Leo Amery 4,462 45.8 -4.2
Majority 814 8.4 +8.4
Turnout 9,738 95.1 +9.5
Registered electors 10,238
Liberal hold Swing +4.2

References

  1. Rayment, Leigh (2013). "The Wolverhampton East by-election of 1908 - the first vote cast by a woman?". leighrayment.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. The Times, 6 May 1908
  3. The Times, 14 April 1908
  4. The Times, 21 April 1908
  5. The Times, 13 April 1908.
  6. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
  7. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
  8. The Times, 7 May 1908
  9. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
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