Leeds North by-election, 1902
Encyclopedia
The Leeds North by-election, 1902 was a parliamentary by-election
held for the House of Commons constituency of Leeds North
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
on 29 July 1902.
MP William Jackson
. Jackson had held the seat since its creation for the general election of 1885
, having previously been one of the MPs for the multi-member seat of Leeds
.
parties in Leeds were unprepared for a by-election, suggesting that Jackson’s peerage
come as a surprise to the party organisations if not to Jackson himself. The Conservatives considered a number of possible candidates including Colonel Harding, a Liberal Unionist
who had contested West Leeds
against Herbert Gladstone and a former Lord Mayor
of Leeds, F Stanley Jackson, the son of the retiring MP and a Yorkshire County cricketer
and Reginald Wigram and Sir Arthur Lawson, who were both officers of the party in Leeds. They eventually selected Lawson, a 58 year old businessman.
as their candidate. Barran was aged 44, and prominent in a firm of local clothing manufacturers and merchants. He was the son of Sir John Barran
a former MP for Leeds and for the nearby seat of Otley
. Rowland Barran was a member of Leeds City Council and a former member of the Leeds School Board
.
in Leeds announced that they would definitely be standing a candidate in the by-election. They were considering Philip Snowden
who later became a Labour MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer
and two other local men as candidates as well as T B Duncan, Secretary of the Shop Assistants Association
. The party was reportedly not particularly strong in the division, with few members and in need of financial support from party headquarters. Keir Hardie
visited Leeds with other top Labour and Trade union
officials in early July 1902 to discuss the by-election. However, lack of resources eventually forced Labour not to bring forward a candidate. They had another by-election to fight in Clitheroe
in Lancashire
which was a better prospect and at a meeting of the ILP in Leeds on 4 July, Hardie told members that the fight in North Leeds would have to wait for a future election. Ironically the Labour position in the Clitheroe seat was so strong that both the Liberal and Conservatives chose not to contest it and the Labour candidate David Shackleton
was returned unopposed.
to replace School Boards with Local Education Authorities and Liberals were highly exercised by the proposals to bring church schools into the public system. Many Liberals were strongly nonconformist and the idea that Church of England
and Roman Catholic schools should be funded from the rates
, a form of local taxation, was anathema to them. It provided the battle slogan ‘Rome on the Rates’ and united the party against the government. Barran, a Baptist
by religion, spoke out strongly against these plans at his first public meeting on 8 July 1902, saying the proposed Bill was biased towards the Anglican Church and what he described as ‘the clerical party’. The Bill was designed to endow the clerical party, to hand over management of schools to the Churches rather than the people through elected School Boards and was, he claimed, a deliberate attack on the Free Churches
. Barran also held three further meetings specifically featuring the Education Bill issue. It was reported that Roman Catholics in the constituency put their support behind the Conservative candidate Sir Arthur Lawson.
and Free Trade
versus Tariff Reform
. Temperance was also an issue supported by Barran while Lawson had the support of the electoral committee of the Amalgamated Licensing Trades. From the Liberal side there was an attack on the government for its inaction on social and economic questions, presumably against the background of the increasing importance being given to these issues by the emerging New Liberalism
.
The Conservatives seem to have spent the election in defence of the government but clearly took the attack to the Liberals on supposed internal dissensions in the Liberal Party, around the roles of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
and Lord Rosebery. Rosebery the former prime minister
had become increasingly out of step with the mainstream of Liberal MPs on social reform and the role of the Empire. There were rival camps inside the party with the setting up of the Liberal Imperial Council in 1901 and the Liberal League in 1902. There were fears that this would formally split the party along the lines of the defection in 1886 of the Liberal Unionists with speculation that the Liberal League was a putative breakaway movement rather than simply a faction within the party arguing for a particular approach to government. The issue was heightened because of the Boer War but the Liberal approach during the by-election was to praise the troops and the generals while attacking the government for underestimating the numbers of troops needed and for resisting necessary reforms to the Army.
majority of 2,517 at the 1900 general election
into a Liberal majority of 758. There was a great upsurge of hope among Liberals that the result would send a message to the government on their plans for education reform but these were not maintained and the Bill passed later that year.
The result also indicated a change in the demography of the North Leeds area which the education issue highlighted. Dissenting churches and opinion were gaining prominence. One historian of Leeds has written that while dissent was always strong in the city, it was becoming more confident and less deferential as the middle class element in the chapels grew with the economy. Barran went on to hold the seat until the 1918 general election
when he stood down from Parliament
.
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 Leeds North
Leeds North (UK Parliament constituency)
Leeds North was a borough constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, which 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.-History:...
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
on 29 July 1902.
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the elevation to the peerage of the sitting ConservativeConservative 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...
MP William Jackson
William Jackson, 1st Baron Allerton
William Lawies Jackson, 1st Baron Allerton PC was a British businessman and Conservative politician.-Background and education:...
. Jackson had held the seat since its creation for the general election of 1885
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
, having previously been one of the MPs for the multi-member seat of Leeds
Leeds (UK Parliament constituency)
Leeds was a parliamentary borough covering the town of Leeds, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1885....
.
Conservatives
It was reported that both the Conservative and LiberalLiberal 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...
parties in Leeds were unprepared for a by-election, suggesting that Jackson’s peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
come as a surprise to the party organisations if not to Jackson himself. The Conservatives considered a number of possible candidates including Colonel Harding, a Liberal Unionist
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...
who had contested West Leeds
Leeds West (UK Parliament constituency)
Leeds West is a borough constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
against Herbert Gladstone and a former Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...
of Leeds, F Stanley Jackson, the son of the retiring MP and a Yorkshire County cricketer
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
and Reginald Wigram and Sir Arthur Lawson, who were both officers of the party in Leeds. They eventually selected Lawson, a 58 year old businessman.
Liberals
North Leeds Liberal Association, who decided they wanted a strong local candidate, adopted Rowland Hirst BarranRowland Barran
Sir Rowland Hirst Barran was an English Liberal Party politician, Member of Parliament for Leeds North from 30 July 1902 to the General Election of 14 December 1918.Barran was the son of John Barran, a pioneer in clothing manufacture...
as their candidate. Barran was aged 44, and prominent in a firm of local clothing manufacturers and merchants. He was the son of Sir John Barran
Sir John Barran, 1st Baronet
Sir John Barran, 1st Baronet was a British clothing manufacturer and Liberal Party politician.Barran was the son of John Barran and his wife Elizabeth , and founded the firm of John Barran and Sons, clothing manufacturers, of Leeds...
a former MP for Leeds and for the nearby seat of Otley
Otley (UK Parliament constituency)
Otley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Otley in West Yorkshire. 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.- History :...
. Rowland Barran was a member of Leeds City Council and a former member of the Leeds School Board
School board (England & Wales)
School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigning by George Dixon, Joseph Chamberlain and the National...
.
Labour
The Independent Labour PartyIndependent 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...
in Leeds announced that they would definitely be standing a candidate in the by-election. They were considering Philip Snowden
Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden
Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden PC was a British politician and the first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, a position he held in 1924 and again between 1929 and 1931.-Early life: 1864–1906:...
who later became a Labour MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
and two other local men as candidates as well as T B Duncan, Secretary of the Shop Assistants Association
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers is a trade union in the United Kingdom. Consisting of over 405,000 members, USDAW is the UK's fourth largest and fastest growing trade union. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade...
. The party was reportedly not particularly strong in the division, with few members and in need of financial support from party headquarters. Keir Hardie
Keir Hardie
James Keir Hardie, Sr. , was a Scottish socialist and labour leader, and was the first Independent Labour Member of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
visited Leeds with other top Labour and Trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
officials in early July 1902 to discuss the by-election. However, lack of resources eventually forced Labour not to bring forward a candidate. They had another by-election to fight in Clitheroe
Clitheroe (UK Parliament constituency)
Clitheroe was a parliamentary constituency in Lancashire.The town of Clitheroe was first enfranchised as a parliamentary borough in 1559, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and finally to the...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
which was a better prospect and at a meeting of the ILP in Leeds on 4 July, Hardie told members that the fight in North Leeds would have to wait for a future election. Ironically the Labour position in the Clitheroe seat was so strong that both the Liberal and Conservatives chose not to contest it and the Labour candidate David Shackleton
David Shackleton
Sir David James Shackleton was a cotton worker and trade unionist who became the third Labour Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, following the formation of the Labour Representation Committee. He later became a senior civil servant....
was returned unopposed.
Education
Education dominated the campaign. A number of historians have commented that the Liberal cadidate fought the by-election exclusively or predominantly on the issue. As a former member of Leeds School Board, Barran took a strong interest in education. There was a robust debate going on around the government’s plans for an Education BillEducation Act 1902
The Education Act 1902 , also known as Balfour's Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting education in England and Wales. At the time of passage of the Act, the Conservative Party was in power...
to replace School Boards with Local Education Authorities and Liberals were highly exercised by the proposals to bring church schools into the public system. Many Liberals were strongly nonconformist and the idea that Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and Roman Catholic schools should be funded from the rates
Rates (tax)
Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government...
, a form of local taxation, was anathema to them. It provided the battle slogan ‘Rome on the Rates’ and united the party against the government. Barran, a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
by religion, spoke out strongly against these plans at his first public meeting on 8 July 1902, saying the proposed Bill was biased towards the Anglican Church and what he described as ‘the clerical party’. The Bill was designed to endow the clerical party, to hand over management of schools to the Churches rather than the people through elected School Boards and was, he claimed, a deliberate attack on the Free Churches
Free church
The term "free church" refers to a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separated from government . A free church does not define government policy, nor have governments define church policy or theology, nor seeks or receives government endorsement or funding for its general mission...
. Barran also held three further meetings specifically featuring the Education Bill issue. It was reported that Roman Catholics in the constituency put their support behind the Conservative candidate Sir Arthur Lawson.
Other issues
Other topical questions raised by the candidates included Irish Home RuleIrish Home Rule Movement
The Irish Home Rule Movement articulated a longstanding Irish desire for the repeal of the Act of Union of 1800 by a demand for self-government within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The movement drew upon a legacy of patriotic thought that dated back at least to the late 17th...
and Free Trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
versus Tariff Reform
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
. Temperance was also an issue supported by Barran while Lawson had the support of the electoral committee of the Amalgamated Licensing Trades. From the Liberal side there was an attack on the government for its inaction on social and economic questions, presumably against the background of the increasing importance being given to these issues by the emerging New Liberalism
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
.
The Conservatives seem to have spent the election in defence of the government but clearly took the attack to the Liberals on supposed internal dissensions in the Liberal Party, around the roles of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman GCB was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He also served as Secretary of State for War twice, in the Cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery...
and Lord Rosebery. Rosebery the former prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
had become increasingly out of step with the mainstream of Liberal MPs on social reform and the role of the Empire. There were rival camps inside the party with the setting up of the Liberal Imperial Council in 1901 and the Liberal League in 1902. There were fears that this would formally split the party along the lines of the defection in 1886 of the Liberal Unionists with speculation that the Liberal League was a putative breakaway movement rather than simply a faction within the party arguing for a particular approach to government. The issue was heightened because of the Boer War but the Liberal approach during the by-election was to praise the troops and the generals while attacking the government for underestimating the numbers of troops needed and for resisting necessary reforms to the Army.
The result
The result was a Liberal gain from the government, with Barran turning a ToryTory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
majority of 2,517 at the 1900 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1900
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
into a Liberal majority of 758. There was a great upsurge of hope among Liberals that the result would send a message to the government on their plans for education reform but these were not maintained and the Bill passed later that year.
The result also indicated a change in the demography of the North Leeds area which the education issue highlighted. Dissenting churches and opinion were gaining prominence. One historian of Leeds has written that while dissent was always strong in the city, it was becoming more confident and less deferential as the middle class element in the chapels grew with the economy. Barran went on to hold the seat until 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...
when he stood down from Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
.
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...