Hull West by-election, 1907
Encyclopedia
The Hull by-election, 1907 was a parliamentary by-election
held in England
for the House of Commons constituency
of Hull West
on 11 November 1907.
The seat had been held for the Liberal Party
by members of the Wilson family since its creation in 1885, and the by-election was won by the Liberal candidate Guy Greville Wilson
, who was the brother of the outgoing Member of Parliament
(MP).
succeeded to his father's peerage as the 2nd Baron Nunburnholme
. He had held the seat for less than two years, having been elected at the 1906 general election
after the retirement from the Commons of his father Charles Henry Wilson
, who had held the seat since 1885.
The Liberal candidate Guy Greville Wilson
DSO, was a former officer in the British Army
, and a director of the family shipping company Thomas Wilson Sons & Co.
.
The Conservative Party
candidate was Sir George Trout Bartley
, a cockney
who had been the founder of the National Penny bank and was MP for Islington North
from 1885 until his defeat in 1906.
The Labour Party
nominated a candidate for the first time: J. Holmes, who had been an unsuccessful candidate in Birmingham East
at the 1906 general election.
which he had been given, and was heavily defeated at the 1918 general election
.
The Labour Party did not contest Hull West again in either of the 1910 elections. Holmes stood again only one more time, at the Crewe by-election in July 1912, but came a poor third.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held in 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...
for the House of Commons 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 Hull West
Hull West (UK Parliament constituency)
Hull West was a borough constituency in Kingston upon Hull which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1918 general election....
on 11 November 1907.
The seat had been held for 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...
by members of the Wilson family since its creation in 1885, and the by-election was won by the Liberal candidate Guy Greville Wilson
Guy Greville Wilson
Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Greville Wilson DSO, CMG was a British soldier, company director, and Liberal Party politician from Kingston upon Hull...
, who was the brother of the outgoing 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,...
(MP).
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the sitting MP Charles WilsonCharles Wilson, 2nd Baron Nunburnholme
Charles Henry Wellesley Wilson, 2nd Baron Nunburnholme, CB, DSO, , was a British peer, and one of the heirs to the Thomas Wilson Sons & Co., a Hull-based shipping company that built a near-monopoly over affordable travel packages from Scandinavia and the Baltic.He was the eldest son of Charles...
succeeded to his father's peerage as the 2nd Baron Nunburnholme
Baron Nunburnholme
Baron Nunburnholme, of the City of Kingston-upon-Hull, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1906 for the former Liberal Member of Parliament for Hull and Hull West, Charles Wilson. His son, the second Baron, also represented Hull West in Parliament as a Liberal and...
. He had held the seat for less than two years, having been elected at the 1906 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
after the retirement from the Commons of his father Charles Henry Wilson
Charles Wilson, 1st Baron Nunburnholme
Charles Henry Wilson, 1st Baron Nunburnholme , was a prominent English shipowner who became head of the Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. shipping business.- Life :...
, who had held the seat since 1885.
Candidates
Three candidates contested the seat.The Liberal candidate Guy Greville Wilson
Guy Greville Wilson
Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Greville Wilson DSO, CMG was a British soldier, company director, and Liberal Party politician from Kingston upon Hull...
DSO, was a former officer in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, and a director of the family shipping company Thomas Wilson Sons & Co.
Thomas Wilson Sons & Co.
Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. was founded in 1822 as a joint venture by merchants Thomas Wilson, his partner John Beckinton and two unrelated men both surnamed Hudson. None came from shipping backgrounds but were quick to see the opportunity of becoming involved in the industry. They acquired their...
.
The Conservative Party
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 was Sir George Trout Bartley
George Trout Bartley
Sir George Christopher Trout Bartley KCB was an English civil servant, banker and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1906....
, a cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
who had been the founder of the National Penny bank and was MP for Islington North
Islington North (UK Parliament constituency)
Islington North is a parliamentary 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...
from 1885 until his defeat in 1906.
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...
nominated a candidate for the first time: J. Holmes, who had been an unsuccessful candidate in Birmingham East
Birmingham East (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham East was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Birmingham, England. 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 voting system....
at the 1906 general election.
Result
Aftermath
Bartley did not stand for Parliament again. Wilson held the seat (with much increased majorities) until the constituency was abolished in 1918. He then rejected the coalition couponCoalition 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...
which he had been given, and was heavily defeated 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...
.
The Labour Party did not contest Hull West again in either of the 1910 elections. Holmes stood again only one more time, at the Crewe by-election in July 1912, but came a poor third.