Horncastle by-election, 1920
Encyclopedia
The Horncastle by-election of 1920 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Horncastle
in Lincolnshire
on 25 February 1920. The seat had become vacant when the sitting Coalition Unionist
Member of Parliament
, William Weigall
, who had held the seat since 1911, resigned upon being appointed Governor of South Australia.
government of David Lloyd George
had as their candidate, Stafford Vere Hotchkin
(1876-1953), a farmer, former soldier, Sheriff
of Rutland
and a local Justice of the Peace
. The Liberals were represented by Samuel Pattinson
(1870-1942), a local businessman and sometime Alderman
of Lincolnshire County Council. William Holmes stood for the Labour Party
.
and the leader of the Conservative Party, Andrew Bonar-Law. In his letter to Hotchkin, Lloyd George emphasised the need to resuscitate and develop British agriculture in which task he said Hotchkin as a ‘practical farmer’ would be able to help the government. Bonar-Law stressed the continuing need for parties to work together in the national interest in difficult times. In effect Hotchkin was receiving the equivalent of the government ‘coupon’ which had been issued at the 1918 general election
.
Small Holdings Committee
had become known and this encouraged the Liberals to hope for a good result at Horncastle. In the event however the seat was held for the Coalition by Hotchkin with a majority of 1,413 over Pattinson, with Labour in third place. Turnout was 77.1% as opposed to 68.2% at the previous general election, which had been a straight fight between Conservative Coalitionist and Liberal candidates.
Hotchkin took his seat in the House of Commons on Friday 12 March 1920. He served as MP for Horncastle until 1922
when Pattison won the seat at that year’s general election.
Horncastle (UK Parliament constituency)
Horncastle was a county constituency in Lincolnshire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. MPs were elected by the first past the post system of voting....
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
on 25 February 1920. The seat had become vacant when the sitting 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...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, William Weigall
William Weigall
Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Ernest George Archibald Weigall, 1st Baronet KCMG was a British Conservative politician who was Governor of South Australia from 9 June 1920 until 30 May 1922.-Family:...
, who had held the seat since 1911, resigned upon being appointed Governor of South Australia.
Candidates
The Unionists, as representatives of the Liberal-Conservative 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...
government of David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
had as their candidate, Stafford Vere Hotchkin
Stafford Vere Hotchkin
Stafford Vere Hotchkin was an English landowner, soldier, High Sheriff of Rutland and briefly a Conservative Member of Parliament....
(1876-1953), a farmer, former soldier, Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
and a local Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
. The Liberals were represented by Samuel Pattinson
Samuel Pattinson
Samuel Pattinson was a British businessman and Liberal politician.-Family and education:Samuel Pattinson was the son of William Pattinson, a Justice of the Peace from Ruskington in Lincolnshire. He was educated at Abingdon House School in Northampton. In 1897 he married Betsy Sharpley Bainbridge...
(1870-1942), a local businessman and sometime 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 Lincolnshire County Council. William Holmes stood for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
The ‘Coupon’ revisited
Hotchkin quickly received the endorsement of both the prime ministerPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
and the leader of the Conservative Party, Andrew Bonar-Law. In his letter to Hotchkin, Lloyd George emphasised the need to resuscitate and develop British agriculture in which task he said Hotchkin as a ‘practical farmer’ would be able to help the government. Bonar-Law stressed the continuing need for parties to work together in the national interest in difficult times. In effect Hotchkin was receiving the equivalent of the government ‘coupon’ which had been issued at 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...
.
Agriculture
Agriculture dominated the election in this rural constituency. Labour had hopes of picking up the votes of the agricultural workers who were members of the Agricultural Labourers’ Union but William Holmes was reported as alienating potential supporters by making speeches about revolution and bloodshed. It was expected that the Liberals would gain land workers’ votes put off by the apparent extremism of Holmes’ electioneering. While the Coalition government was losing popularity across the country, it was reported that Hotchkin was a strong local candidate who knew about farming from a practical point of view. In the post-war environment, the availability and price of food and of animal feed were also issues. All the candidates strongly supported the encouragement and development of small holdings. Hotchkin was a sometime Chairman of the LindseyLindsey
Lindsey was a unit of local government until 1974 in Lincolnshire, England, covering the northern part of the county. The Isle of Axholme, which is on the west side of the River Trent, has normally formed part of it...
Small Holdings Committee
Government influence
A related concern was government influence over private life and business, through over-regulation and bureaucracy, as well as examples of waste and extravagance from an administration in far away London. This theme was taken up by the Liberal, who also attacked Labour for their plans for nationalisation.Result
The declaration of the poll did not take place until 9 March 1920 because of the government’s continuing to keep in force a wartime regulation delaying the announcement of election results. By this time news of H H Asquith's by-election win in PaisleyPaisley (UK Parliament constituency)
Paisley was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1983, when it was divided into Paisley North and Paisley South...
had become known and this encouraged the Liberals to hope for a good result at Horncastle. In the event however the seat was held for the Coalition by Hotchkin with a majority of 1,413 over Pattinson, with Labour in third place. Turnout was 77.1% as opposed to 68.2% at the previous general election, which had been a straight fight between Conservative Coalitionist and Liberal candidates.
Candidates’ reaction
All three candidates were able to draw a positive conclusion from the result. Hotchkin was clearly gratified to have won and credited his success to a combination of popular satisfaction with the Coalition government and his status as a local man. Pattinson blamed his lack of success on the intervention of a Labour candidate, splitting the anti-coalition vote and presumably hoping Labour’s third place would discourage them from standing a candidate at future elections. Holmes said he had done well, coming late into the contest a perfect stranger to the constituency and was pleased to have established a solid Labour movement there.Hotchkin took his seat in the House of Commons on Friday 12 March 1920. He served as MP for Horncastle until 1922
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
when Pattison won the seat at that year’s general election.