Mid Lanarkshire by-election, 1888
Encyclopedia
The Mid Lanarkshire by-election, 1888 was a parliamentary by-election
held on 27 April 1888 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Mid Lanarkshire
.
Member of Parliament (MP), Stephen Mason
resigned his seat. He did this by being appointed Steward of the Manor of Northstead, a notional offices of profit under the Crown, which is used to permit MPs to vacate their seats.
Mason (1832-21 April 1890) was a Glasgow merchant, who had been the MP for the seat since the 1885 general election
. He was known for having written pamphlets on political topics, such as monetary and land questions, the Anglo-French treaty of 1860 and banking in Scotland. .
1. The Liberal Party candidate was John Wynford Philipps
(30 May 1860 – 28 March 1938). He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1886.
Philipps contested Devizes
at the 1886 general election. He was MP for this seat from the by-election until he resigned in 1894. He was subsequently elected MP for Pembrokeshire
at an 1898 by-election. He sat for the Welsh county until he was created the 1st Lord St Davids
in 1908. He was advanced in the peerage as the 1st Viscount St Davids in 1918.
2. The Conservative candidate was William Robert Bousfield
(12 January 1854 – 16 July 1943), admitted to the bar of England and Wales in 1880.
Bousfield was elected MP for Hackney North
at a by-election in 1892 and retained that seat until he was defeated in 1906.
3. Representing the Labour interest, as an Independent Labour candidate, was the Lanarkshire
born (James) Keir Hardie
(15 August 1856 – 26 September 1915).
Hardie had a background as a manual worker, which was unusual for a political candidate in 1888. Previously some working men, with a trade union background, had been elected to Parliament as Liberal-Labour
candidates but none without Liberal support.
Hardie had worked as a miner. He became a trade unionist and then a journalist. At the time of the by-election he was a member of the Liberal Party, but the local Liberal Association rejected him as its candidate at the by-election.
Hardie subsequently was a leading figure in the development of the Labour Party
. He was elected Independent Labour MP for West Ham South
in 1892 and sat until defeated in 1895. During this time he was the person who presided over the meeting which created the Independent Labour Party
(ILP) in 1893. Hardie contested Bradford East
for the ILP in a by-election in 1896 and Preston
at the 1900 general election for the [British Labour Party#Labour Representation Committee|[Labour Representation Committee]] (LRC). He also contested and won Merthyr Tydfil
in the 1900 election. The LRC was re-named the Labour Party in 1906. Hardie was the Parliamentary Labour Party Chairman (its de facto leader) from 1906 until 1908. He continued to represent Merthyr Tydfil until he died in 1915.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 27 April 1888 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 Mid Lanarkshire
Mid Lanarkshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Lanarkshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system.- Boundaries :...
.
Previous MP
The seat had become vacant in April 1888 . The constituency's 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...
Member of Parliament (MP), Stephen Mason
Stephen Mason (MP)
Stephen Mason was a Scottish Liberal politician.-Family and business:Moon was born at Kennoway in the Kingdom of Fife. He was educated locally in a private school. He married Martha Marshall of Machan in Lanarkshire....
resigned his seat. He did this by being appointed Steward of the Manor of Northstead, a notional offices of profit under the Crown, which is used to permit MPs to vacate their seats.
Mason (1832-21 April 1890) was a Glasgow merchant, who had been the MP for the seat since the 1885 general election
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:...
. He was known for having written pamphlets on political topics, such as monetary and land questions, the Anglo-French treaty of 1860 and banking in Scotland. .
Candidates
Three candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.1. The Liberal Party candidate was John Wynford Philipps
John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids
John Wynford Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids PC was a British peer and former Liberal Member of Parliament for Mid Lanarkshire 1888–1894 and Pembrokeshire 1898–1908. He was educated at Felsted School....
(30 May 1860 – 28 March 1938). He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1886.
Philipps contested Devizes
Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)
Devizes is a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire, England, which is now represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 in the House of Commons of England....
at the 1886 general election. He was MP for this seat from the by-election until he resigned in 1894. He was subsequently elected MP for Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Pembrokeshire was a parliamentary constituency based on the county of Pembrokeshire in Wales. 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 :...
at an 1898 by-election. He sat for the Welsh county until he was created the 1st Lord St Davids
Viscount St Davids
Viscount St Davids, of Lydstep Haven in the County of Pembroke, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1918 for John Philipps, 1st Baron St Davids. The Philipps family descends from Sir John Philipps, who represented Pembrokeshire in the House of Commons...
in 1908. He was advanced in the peerage as the 1st Viscount St Davids in 1918.
2. The Conservative candidate was William Robert Bousfield
William Robert Bousfield
William Robert Bousfield was a British lawyer, Conservative politician and scientist.He was the son of Edward Tenney Bousfield, an engineer, from Bedford. He attended Bedford Modern School before serving an apprenticeship as an engineer. In 1872 he was admitted to Caius College, Cambridge, winning...
(12 January 1854 – 16 July 1943), admitted to the bar of England and Wales in 1880.
Bousfield was elected MP for Hackney North
Hackney North (UK Parliament constituency)
Hackney North was a parliamentary constituency in the "The Metropolis" . It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- History :...
at a by-election in 1892 and retained that seat until he was defeated in 1906.
3. Representing the Labour interest, as an Independent Labour candidate, was the Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
born (James) 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...
(15 August 1856 – 26 September 1915).
Hardie had a background as a manual worker, which was unusual for a political candidate in 1888. Previously some working men, with a trade union background, had been elected to Parliament as Liberal-Labour
Liberal-Labour (UK)
The Liberal–Labour movement refers to the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions...
candidates but none without Liberal support.
Hardie had worked as a miner. He became a trade unionist and then a journalist. At the time of the by-election he was a member of the Liberal Party, but the local Liberal Association rejected him as its candidate at the by-election.
Hardie subsequently was a leading figure in the development of 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...
. He was elected Independent Labour MP for West Ham South
West Ham South (UK Parliament constituency)
West Ham South was a parliamentary constituency in the County Borough of West Ham, in what was then Essex but is now Greater 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 voting system.- History...
in 1892 and sat until defeated in 1895. During this time he was the person who presided over the meeting which created the Independent Labour Party
Independent 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...
(ILP) in 1893. Hardie contested Bradford East
Bradford East (UK Parliament constituency)
Bradford East is the name of a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency originally existed from 1885 to 1974 and was recreated for the 2010 general election, electing one Member of Parliament by the first past the post...
for the ILP in a by-election in 1896 and Preston
Preston (UK Parliament constituency)
Preston 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:...
at the 1900 general election for the [British Labour Party#Labour Representation Committee|[Labour Representation Committee]] (LRC). He also contested and won Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil (UK Parliament constituency)
Merthyr Tydfil was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Merthyr Tydfil in Glamorgan. From 1832 to 1868 it returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and in 1868 this was increased to two members...
in the 1900 election. The LRC was re-named the Labour Party in 1906. Hardie was the Parliamentary Labour Party Chairman (its de facto leader) from 1906 until 1908. He continued to represent Merthyr Tydfil until he died in 1915.
Votes
- Resignation of Mason, April 1888
See also
- Mid Lanarkshire constituencyMid Lanarkshire (UK Parliament constituency)Mid Lanarkshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system.- Boundaries :...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1885–1900)
- 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...