1913 Wandsworth by-election

The 1913 Wandsworth by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 12 June 1913.[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.

Wandsworth in London 1885-1918

Vacancy

At the 1885 general election, Sir Henry Kimber was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wandsworth.[2] He held the seat until his resignation in June 1913, by taking the Chiltern Hundreds.[3]

Previous result
General election December 1910: Wandsworth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Kimber 15,168 59.0 +2.1
Liberal James Fairbairn 10,554 41.0 -2.1
Majority 4,614 18.0 +4.2
Turnout 25,722 66.8
Conservative hold Swing +2.1

Candidates

Samuel Samuel was chosen by the Unionists to defend the seat. He unsuccessfully contested Leeds West at the 1906 and January 1910 general elections,[4] and was unsuccessful again in Sunderland at the December 1910 general election.[5]

Havelock Wilson was chosen by the local Liberals as their candidate. He was MP for Middlesbrough from 1892 to 1900 and again from 1906 to 1910. He was President of the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union.

Campaign

Result

The Unionist Party held the seat with an increased majority.

By-Election 12 June 1913: Wandsworth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Samuel Samuel 13,425 65.4 +6.4
Liberal Havelock Wilson[6] 7,088 34.6 -6.4
Majority 6,337 30.8 +12.8
Turnout 20,513 51.4 -15.4
Unionist hold Swing +6.4

Aftermath

A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.

General Election 1914/15: Wandsworth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Samuel Samuel
Liberal Havelock Wilson

The constituency was divided at the 1918 general election, and Samuel was returned as a Conservative for the new Putney division of Wandsworth.[7]

References
  1. Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 108.
  2. "No. 25609". The London Gazette. 20 July 1886. p. 3502.
  3. Department of Information Services (14 January 2010). "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  4. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 135. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  5. Craig, British parliamentary election results 1885–1918, page 197
  6. Wilson was categorised by Craig as Liberal/Labour which normally denotes an official Liberal candidate with ties to the trade union movement. The Who's Who of British Members of Parliament refers to Wilson in 1913 as an Independent Labour candidate with unofficial Liberal support.
  7. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 58. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  • Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
  • Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org
  • Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
  • Debrett's House of Commons 1916
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