Elland by-election, 1899
Encyclopedia
A by-election
was held for the British House of Commons
in the constituency
of Elland
on 8 March 1899. The seat became vacant following the retirement on grounds of ill-health of the sitting Member of Parliament, Thomas Wayman
. The Liberal candidate was Charles Philips Trevelyan
, opposed by the Unionist
Philip Foster
.
Important issues in the campaign included the Liberal demands for disestablishment of the Church of England, school building, and payment for Members of Parliament. According to The Times, "One of the Unionist placards told the electorate if they wanted their rates and taxes raised, if they wished to pay members of Parliament, and to build Board schools where they were not required, they must vote for Mr Trevelyan; but if they wanted peace, good trade, and their rates and taxes raised, then they ought to vote for Mr Foster".
When the count, which took just two hours and seven minutes, was completed, the result was as expected: a hold for the Liberal
Party, with a majority of around three times what it had been in the last election. Since the Conservative vote was only slightly less than the last time despite an increase of about 4-500 in the electorate, the Liberals claimed this as a sign that "radicalism was growing right through the West Riding".
Trevelyan would go on to hold the seat until the general election of 1918, when running as candidate of the Independent Labour Party
he lost to the Coalition Unionist
candidate.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
was held for the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
in the constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Elland
Elland (UK Parliament constituency)
Elland was a parliamentary constituency in the West Riding of Yorkshire that existed between 1885 and 1950. It elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons, by the first-past-the-post voting system....
on 8 March 1899. The seat became vacant following the retirement on grounds of ill-health of the sitting Member of Parliament, Thomas Wayman
Thomas Wayman
Thomas Wayman was an English politician.He was educated in private schools in Halifax. He carried on business as a wool-stapler until 1892. He was Mayor of Halifax from 1872 to 1874 and served as a Justice of the Peace in the borough. He was Liberal MP for nearby Elland from 1885 until he retired...
. The Liberal candidate was Charles Philips Trevelyan
Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet
Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet PC , the Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland, was a British Liberal, and later Labour, politician and landowner...
, opposed by the Unionist
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Philip Foster
Philip Staveley Foster
Philip Staveley Foster was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.The only son of Abraham Briggs Foster, Philip went to Eton in 1879 and Magdalen College, Oxford in 1884, leaving with a degree three years later...
.
Important issues in the campaign included the Liberal demands for disestablishment of the Church of England, school building, and payment for Members of Parliament. According to The Times, "One of the Unionist placards told the electorate if they wanted their rates and taxes raised, if they wished to pay members of Parliament, and to build Board schools where they were not required, they must vote for Mr Trevelyan; but if they wanted peace, good trade, and their rates and taxes raised, then they ought to vote for Mr Foster".
When the count, which took just two hours and seven minutes, was completed, the result was as expected: a hold for the Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Party, with a majority of around three times what it had been in the last election. Since the Conservative vote was only slightly less than the last time despite an increase of about 4-500 in the electorate, the Liberals claimed this as a sign that "radicalism was growing right through the West Riding".
Trevelyan would go on to hold the seat until the general election of 1918, when running as candidate of the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
he lost to the Coalition Unionist
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate.