Finsbury East by-election, 1918
Encyclopedia
The Finsbury East by-election, 1918 was a parliamentary by-election
held for the House of Commons constituency of East Finsbury in north London
on 16 July 1918.
MP Joseph Allen Baker
, who had held the seat since himself winning it in a by-election on 29 June 1905.
, the son of Henry John Stedman Cotton
, a colonial administrator and himself a Liberal MP who sat for Nottingham East
from 1906-1910. H E A Cotton was then aged 50 years and had been Progressive Party
member of the London County Council
for East Finsbury since 1910. He was a barrister
, having been called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1893 and a journalist.
with Prime Minister David Lloyd George
, the Conservatives chose not to contest the by-election and endorsed Cotton as the government candidate.
– an inquiry into the feasibility of setting up Industrial Councils in industry and administration to improve industrial relations and increase efficiency. However in the end, Lamble decided not to fight the election.
There were however two Independents
who did contest the by-election. Mr A S Belsher was a solicitor's managing clerk and Chairman of the London Licensed Victuallers
Central Protection Board. Belsher had obtained the support of the Merchant Seamen's League. The League had resolved to boycott German goods after the war in retaliation for the U-Boat attacks
on merchant shipping. They could not get Cotton to support their cause so switched allegiance to Belsher.
The second Independent was H S Spencer, an honorary Captain in the Royal Irish Fusiliers
and an examiner in the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate of the Royal Air Force
. Spencer was said to have the support of the Vigilante Society, an extreme right-wing
group which campaigned against enemy aliens
and what they described as ‘naturalised enemies’ in Britain. They wanted the British Empire
to be reserved for what they called British people.
,internment of enemy aliens or boycotting of goods and services from those who were German or believed to have German ancestry. This mood continued right up until polling day with the two Independent candidates’ supporters engaged in rowdysim and violence against each other.
. Cotton’s vote was also seen as a rejection of the kind of political violence which had marred the by-election and which was chiefly associated with the campaigns of Spencer and Belsher.
The result pointed the way to the outcome of the 1918 general election
which was to come in December 1918, soon after the signing of the Armistice
on 11 November and which resulted in a massive landslide for the Coalition and government candidates granted the Coalition Coupon
.
As far as East Finsbury and H E A Cotton were concerned, however, the election was an academic exercise. The constituency disappeared in boundary changes at the 1918 general election just a few months later. Cotton, contested the successor seat of Finsbury
but he was not awarded the Coupon which went to Lt-Col. Martin Archer-Shee DSO
. Archer-Shee had been MP for Finsbury Central
since 1910. The Times
newspaper reported that Cotton had not been a good candidate, a weak campaigner and inconsistent on ther German boycott. They reported that although he was selected to represent the government under the party truce it was likely on his record that he would gravitate to the opposition, i.e. to the rival wing of the Liberal Party led by H H Asquith. The message The Times believed the government should take from the election was to have ‘stout-hearted and patriotic candidates’ in the field come the general election. Clearly the government whips
felt Archer-Shee fitted that description better than Cotton.
Cotton continued his career in London government, becoming an Alderman
of the LCC. He then went back to India where he served as President of the Bengal
Legislature from 1922-25.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held for the House of Commons constituency of East Finsbury in north London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
on 16 July 1918.
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the death on 3 July 1918 of the sitting Liberal PartyLiberal 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...
MP Joseph Allen Baker
Joseph Allen Baker
Joseph Allen Baker was a Canadian born engineer, specialising in machinery for the confectionery and bakery industries and later in transportation systems, who was also a Liberal Party politician in London.-Family and education:...
, who had held the seat since himself winning it in a by-election on 29 June 1905.
Liberals
Finsbury Liberal Association adopted Harry Evan Auguste Cotton as their candidate to replace Baker. Cotton was born in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the son of Henry John Stedman Cotton
Henry John Stedman Cotton
Sir Henry John Stedman Cotton, KCSI had a long career in the Indian Civil Service, during which he was sympathetic to Indian nationalism...
, a colonial administrator and himself a Liberal MP who sat for Nottingham East
Nottingham East (UK Parliament constituency)
Nottingham East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
from 1906-1910. H E A Cotton was then aged 50 years and had been Progressive Party
Progressive Party (London)
The Progressive Party was a political party based around the Liberal Party that contested municipal elections in the County of London.It was founded in 1888 by a group of Liberals and leaders of the labour movement. It was also supported by the Fabian Society, and Sidney Webb was one of its...
member of the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
for East Finsbury since 1910. He was a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, having been called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1893 and a journalist.
Conservatives
As participants in the wartime coalitionCoalition Government 1916-1922
The Coalition Government of David Lloyd George came to power in the United Kingdom in December 1916, replacing the earlier wartime coalition under H.H. Asquith, which had been held responsible for reverses during the Great War. Those Liberals who continued to support Asquith served as the Opposition...
with Prime Minister David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, the Conservatives chose not to contest the by-election and endorsed Cotton as the government candidate.
Independents
Mr Charles Lamble, the Chairman of the Government Temporary Clerks’ Association, announced he would be standing in the election. He said he would stand as a supporter of the government but that he would be pressing for the redress of existing grievances in the Civil Service and the immediate implementation of the Whitley ReportJohn Henry Whitley
John Henry Whitley , often known as J. H. Whitley, was a respected and successful British politician whose life and career spanned a period of significant social change, from roots in the heart of the Industrial Revolution through to the inter-war period.- Family and early career :John Henry...
– an inquiry into the feasibility of setting up Industrial Councils in industry and administration to improve industrial relations and increase efficiency. However in the end, Lamble decided not to fight the election.
There were however two Independents
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
who did contest the by-election. Mr A S Belsher was a solicitor's managing clerk and Chairman of the London Licensed Victuallers
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
Central Protection Board. Belsher had obtained the support of the Merchant Seamen's League. The League had resolved to boycott German goods after the war in retaliation for the U-Boat attacks
U-boat Campaign (World War I)
The U-boat Campaign from 1914 to 1918 was the World War I naval campaign fought by German U-boats against the trade routes of the Entente Powers...
on merchant shipping. They could not get Cotton to support their cause so switched allegiance to Belsher.
The second Independent was H S Spencer, an honorary Captain in the Royal Irish Fusiliers
Royal Irish Fusiliers
The Royal Irish Fusiliers was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th Regiment of Foot and the 89th Regiment of Foot in 1881. The regiment's first title in 1881 was Princess Victoria's , changed in 1920 to The Royal Irish Fusiliers...
and an examiner in the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. Spencer was said to have the support of the Vigilante Society, an extreme right-wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
group which campaigned against enemy aliens
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
and what they described as ‘naturalised enemies’ in Britain. They wanted the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
to be reserved for what they called British people.
Issues
The only real issue seems to have been the prosecution of the war and the nationalistic atmosphere the war was stirring up against the Germans. The candidates were all competing to see who would come across toughest on measures such as the Defence of the Realm ActDefence of the Realm Act 1914
The Defence of the Realm Act was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, during the early weeks of World War I. It gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war period, such as the power to requisition buildings or land needed for the war effort, or to make regulations creating...
,internment of enemy aliens or boycotting of goods and services from those who were German or believed to have German ancestry. This mood continued right up until polling day with the two Independent candidates’ supporters engaged in rowdysim and violence against each other.
The result
In a wartime contest on a clearly out of date electoral register Cotton easily retained the seat for the government with a majority of 580 votes over Spencer. Turnout was only 38.7%. The result was an endorsement by the electorate for the government’s handling of the war effort, both in military terms and on the home frontHome front
Home front is the informal term commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system of their military....
. Cotton’s vote was also seen as a rejection of the kind of political violence which had marred the by-election and which was chiefly associated with the campaigns of Spencer and Belsher.
The result pointed the way to the outcome of the 1918 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
which was to come in December 1918, soon after the signing of the Armistice
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
on 11 November and which resulted in a massive landslide for the Coalition and government candidates granted the Coalition Coupon
Coalition Coupon
The ‘Coalition Coupon’, often referred to as ‘the coupon’, refers to the letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the United Kingdom general election, 1918 endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory in...
.
As far as East Finsbury and H E A Cotton were concerned, however, the election was an academic exercise. The constituency disappeared in boundary changes at the 1918 general election just a few months later. Cotton, contested the successor seat of Finsbury
Finsbury (UK Parliament constituency)
The parliamentary borough of Finsbury was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1885, and from 1918 to 1950. The constituency created in 1832 included part of the county of Middlesex north of the City of London and was named after the Finsbury...
but he was not awarded the Coupon which went to Lt-Col. Martin Archer-Shee DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
. Archer-Shee had been MP for Finsbury Central
Finsbury Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Finsbury Central was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Finsbury district of North London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
since 1910. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper reported that Cotton had not been a good candidate, a weak campaigner and inconsistent on ther German boycott. They reported that although he was selected to represent the government under the party truce it was likely on his record that he would gravitate to the opposition, i.e. to the rival wing of the Liberal Party led by H H Asquith. The message The Times believed the government should take from the election was to have ‘stout-hearted and patriotic candidates’ in the field come the general election. Clearly the government whips
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
felt Archer-Shee fitted that description better than Cotton.
Cotton continued his career in London government, becoming an Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
of the LCC. He then went back to India where he served as President of the Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
Legislature from 1922-25.
The votes
See also
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election recordsUnited Kingdom by-election recordsUK by-election records is an annotated list of notable records from UK Parliamentary by-elections. A by-election occurs when a Member of Parliament resigns, dies, or is disqualified or expelled, and an election is held to fill the vacant seat...