Forfarshire by-election, 1894
Encyclopedia
The Forfarshire by-election, 1894 was a parliamentary by-election
held for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Forfarshire, Scotland
on 17 November 1894. The result was a gain by the Liberal Unionists
from the Liberal Party
.
had defected to the Liberal Unionist Party. John Rigby
, previously member for Wisbech
in Cambridgeshire
, England
, was chosen by the Liberals as their candidate at the 1892 general election
. Although a stranger to Scottish politics, Rigby won the seat in the Liberal interest by a majority of 866 votes. Following his appointment as Attorney General for England and Wales
, he was obliged to seek re-election, and was returned unopposed in August 1892.
The seat became vacant when Rigby was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal
on 19 October 1894.
s of Broughty Ferry
, Carnoustie
and Monifieth
were largely suburbs of the City of Dundee
. They contained large numbers of wealthy manufacturers and merchants, as well as working class voters engaged in the fishing, chemical, boot-making and textile industries. Kirriemuir
, at the north of the constituency, was regarded as Radical: in the past Chartism
had been strong among the weavers of the town. In the east were fishing villages.
In the rural parts of the county the farmers were considered to be almost exclusively Unionist voters. The most important voting bloc, numbering about 3,000, were the farm servants. They were regarded as being "singularly shrewd, well-informed and independent politicians".
The Liberals chose Henry Robson to defend the seat. Robson, although Scottish born, had made his living as a stockbroker in London. The choice of the "stranger", Robson, rather than the popular Dundee merchant, Martin White, was resented locally. The Unionists, by contrast, chose a local landowner, the Honorable Charles Maule Ramsay
. Ramsay was the younger brother of the late Earl of Dalhousie, who had sat as a Liberal MP for Liverpool
.
As the campaign went on, it became clear that the votes of the agricultural labourers would prove crucial. Sir John Rigby had proved popular with them as he promised to campaign for a half-holiday a week for ploughmen. However, he had not lived up to their expectations, instead concerning himself with the Home Rule
question at Westminster
. When he vacated his seat to take up a judicial appointment he was accused of neglecting his constituents, and simply using his parliamentary seat as a stepping stone in his career. This perceived slight, and the imposition of an outside candidate saw a big swing in the agricultural vote towards Ramsay.
The Unionist victory was short-lived, however. At the general election held in the following year
, the Liberals learned from their mistakes. The preferred local candidate, Martin White, was this time selected, and the seat regained by the party.
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 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...
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 Forfarshire, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
on 17 November 1894. The result was a gain by the Liberal Unionists
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
from the Liberal Party
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...
.
Background
Traditionally, Forfarshire had elected Liberals to the Commons, but in 1886 the sitting MP J W BarclayJames William Barclay
James William Barclay was a Scottish businessman, farmer and politician. For nineteen years he was member of parliament for Forfarshire....
had defected to the Liberal Unionist Party. John Rigby
John Rigby (politician)
Sir John Rigby PC , was a British judge and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1894.-Background and education:...
, previously member for Wisbech
Wisbech (UK Parliament constituency)
Wisbech is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the abolition of an undivided Cambridgeshire county constituency in 1885 and was itself abolished in 1918.-Boundaries:...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, was chosen by the Liberals as their candidate at the 1892 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1892
The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...
. Although a stranger to Scottish politics, Rigby won the seat in the Liberal interest by a majority of 866 votes. Following his appointment as Attorney General for England and Wales
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
, he was obliged to seek re-election, and was returned unopposed in August 1892.
The seat became vacant when Rigby was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal
Lord Justice of Appeal
A Lord Justice of Appeal is an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, and represents the second highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales-Appointment:...
on 19 October 1894.
The campaign and candidates
The electorate of the constituency was approximately 12,000. The towns of the county were very diverse socially: the burghBurgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
s of Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry is a suburb on the eastern side of the City of Dundee, on the shore of the Firth of Tay in eastern Scotland...
, Carnoustie
Carnoustie
Carnoustie is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast...
and Monifieth
Monifieth
Monifieth is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated on the North bank of the Firth of Tay on the East Coast...
were largely suburbs of the City of Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
. They contained large numbers of wealthy manufacturers and merchants, as well as working class voters engaged in the fishing, chemical, boot-making and textile industries. Kirriemuir
Kirriemuir
Kirriemuir, sometimes called Kirrie, is a burgh in Angus, Scotland.-History:The history of Kirriemuir extends to the early historical period and it appears to have been a centre of some ecclesiastical importance...
, at the north of the constituency, was regarded as Radical: in the past Chartism
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
had been strong among the weavers of the town. In the east were fishing villages.
In the rural parts of the county the farmers were considered to be almost exclusively Unionist voters. The most important voting bloc, numbering about 3,000, were the farm servants. They were regarded as being "singularly shrewd, well-informed and independent politicians".
The Liberals chose Henry Robson to defend the seat. Robson, although Scottish born, had made his living as a stockbroker in London. The choice of the "stranger", Robson, rather than the popular Dundee merchant, Martin White, was resented locally. The Unionists, by contrast, chose a local landowner, the Honorable Charles Maule Ramsay
Charles Maule Ramsay
Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Charles Maule Ramsay was a British army officer and briefly a Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament ....
. Ramsay was the younger brother of the late Earl of Dalhousie, who had sat as a Liberal MP for Liverpool
Liverpool (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool was a Borough constituency in the county of Lancashire of the House of Commons for the Parliament of England to 1706 then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Members of Parliament...
.
As the campaign went on, it became clear that the votes of the agricultural labourers would prove crucial. Sir John Rigby had proved popular with them as he promised to campaign for a half-holiday a week for ploughmen. However, he had not lived up to their expectations, instead concerning himself with the Home Rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
question at Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
. When he vacated his seat to take up a judicial appointment he was accused of neglecting his constituents, and simply using his parliamentary seat as a stepping stone in his career. This perceived slight, and the imposition of an outside candidate saw a big swing in the agricultural vote towards Ramsay.
Results
Ramsay was elected by a majority of 288 votes. The size of the majority was unexpected and caused jubilation among the Unionists and despair among the Liberals. It was felt that where the Unionists had been highly organised, the Liberals had been lax in their campaigning.The Unionist victory was short-lived, however. At the general election held in the following year
United Kingdom general election, 1895
The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...
, the Liberals learned from their mistakes. The preferred local candidate, Martin White, was this time selected, and the seat regained by the party.