Saffron Walden by-election, 1901
Encyclopedia
The Saffron Walden by-election, 1901 was a by-election
held on 31 May 1901 for the British House of Commons
constituency of Saffron Walden
in Essex
.
MP for the constituency Armine Wodehouse
. Wodehouse was the son of sometime Foreign Secretary John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley
and had held the Saffron Walden
seat since the general election of 1900
.
of Northumberland
from 1892-1900 when he lost his seat at that year’s general election
. During his time in Parliament
, Pease had been private secretary
to John Morley
when he was Chief Secretary for Ireland
. In the by-election, Pease had the support of the wine-merchant and philanthropist
Sir Walter Gilbey
from nearby Bishop's Stortford
who promised to address a meeting of farmers on Pease’s behalf.
chose Charles Wing Gray, an Essex farmer whose home was at Halstead
. Gray had twice contested the seat before. At the 1895 election
he had reduced the Liberal majority from 1,881 to 425 and in 1900
he had brought it down to just 110. He had continued working locally to try and eliminate it altogether and must have had high hopes of victory at the by-election. Saffron Walden
had at this time a reputation as a town with strong Quaker influences and a prominent member of the Society of Friends, E B Gibson, was one of Gray’s nominators.
from Hertfordshire
to Suffolk
with the town itself the only real centre of population, the rest of the division being made up of 86 scattered villages. Unsurprisingly then, agricultural questions loomed large with the electorate. The dominant message from the Unionists was the need for the election of an Essex man with a practical understanding of the needs of agriculture and farming. They also painted Pease as someone who had done damage to agriculture by voting in previous Parliaments against resolutions introduced in the agricultural interest. They quoted in particular Pease’s support for an increase in death duties
which had led estate owners to reduce outgoings, discharging servants and agricultural labourers. They also attacked Pease for his opposition in 1896 to the Agricultural Rating Act, designed to reduce the burden of rates
on agricultural land. Pease found himself under attack from the local branch of the Rural Labourers’ League which openly declared itself for Gray. The League had been founded by Jesse Collings
, a former Liberal MP who opposed Irish Home Rule and became a Liberal Unionist
. Collings had always supported agricultural causes and land reform
including the provision of allotments
and the campaigns characterised by the slogan Three acres and a cow
. The Rural Labourers’ League brought up the failure of former Liberal governments to legislate for the provision of allotments, despite alleged promises to do so and also challenged Pease on his position on Home Rule, underscoring its Liberal Unionist heritage, even though this seemed to have little resonance as an issue among other electors. In return, Pease made play of the government’s proposals for a sugar tax and the addition to labourers’ household expenses this was likely to bring.
Sir Walter Gilbey made good his promise to speak for Pease but the start of the meeting did not go well. It had been advertised as a meeting for farmers but there were many present who were townspeople and probably some from outside the area. This led to protests and a walk-out by the farmers attending, leaving large sections of the hall empty. Holding their own meeting in Saffron Walden market place, the farmers objected that the meeting had been organised to give the impression that farmers were supporting the Radical
candidate, which many clearly had no intention of doing. They pledged their support to Mr Gray and had probably determined to walk out or demonstrate for the Conservative at some point no matter what. Pease continued to campaign against the importation of foreign agricultural products and the need for government action to help make the land more productive. He accused the government of indifference to agriculture, which he claimed was more intensely felt in Essex than any other county. In his election address Pease alleged that rate relief was not applied fairly, with rich accommodation land elsewhere benefitting at the expense of arable land
such as predominated in Essex. He also complained of the unequal burden of increased taxation on workers and labourers.
was a divisive issue in British politics at the turn of the 20th century. The war had resulted in the victory of the Conservative Party in the 1900 general election, which was dubbed the Khaki election
. But what had at first been seen as a brief Imperial
engagement turned slowly into a protracted and bloody conflict. Opposition to the War
was strengthened by the use of concentration camps by the British Army against the Dutch civilian population. This policy was eventually characterised by Liberal leader Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
as ‘methods of barbarism’. Gray was determined to play the khaki card again and held a meeting at Saffron Walden Town Hall on 29 May 1901 with the Marquis of Graham
and D J Morgan MP
in support. Graham described the war as a clash between civilization and progress (on the British side) and slavery, bribery and corruption on the Boer
side. He jingoistically declared that the struggle to decide who should ‘boss’ South Africa, British or Dutch, would be fought to the finish regardless of cost.
It seems likely that some traditional Liberal voters may have felt unwilling to vote against a popular, patriotic war in 1900 and consequently supported the Tory
at that general election. By May 1901 however the shine was starting to come off the military brass. A Liberal supporting election leaflet, “A Soldier’s Indictment of the Present Government” signed by “Tommy Atkins
” was circulating in the last days of the contest.
could have been anticipated, the size of the win was larger than forecast. Once the result was declared, the Conservatives pleaded a lack of voter registration and organisation in the run-up to the poll but Gray had fought the seat in 1895
and 1900 and had made inroads into the Liberal majority. In addition, Gray was the local candidate compared with the carpetbagger
Pease looking for a safe Parliamentary billet having been ousted by the voters of Tyneside and with no local credentials. It seems the impact of the Boer War was wearing off as an electoral asset for the Tories and the agricultural issues seemed to work in favour of the Liberals, particularly the concerns about the impact of the sugar tax on those with low wages in the countryside. It is possible that, as is usual in politics, the electorate may have been beginning to turn against the government, which had by this time been in office for six years. However other by-election results around this time in agricultural seats were not as propitious for the Liberals and saw an increase in the Unionist vote.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 31 May 1901 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 of Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden (UK Parliament constituency)
Saffron Walden 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.- Boundaries :...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the death on 1 May 1901, at the age of 40, of the sitting 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...
MP for the constituency Armine Wodehouse
Armine Wodehouse (MP)
Armine Wodehouse CB , was a British civil servant and Liberal politician.Wodehouse was a younger son of Foreign Secretary John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, and his wife Lady Florence, daughter of Richard FitzGibbon, 3rd Earl of Clare...
. Wodehouse was the son of sometime Foreign Secretary John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley
John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley
John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley KG , PC , known as the Lord Wodehouse from 1846 to 1866, was a British Liberal politician...
and had held the Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
seat since the general election of 1900
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**...
.
Liberals
Saffron Walden Liberals selected as their candidate Joseph Albert (Jack) Pease. Pease had been Liberal MP for the Tyneside DivisionTyneside (UK Parliament constituency)
Tyneside was a parliamentary constituency in the Tyneside area of north-east England, 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....
of Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
from 1892-1900 when he lost his seat at that year’s general election
United Kingdom general elections
This is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament...
. During his time in 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...
, Pease had been private secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to John Morley
John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn
John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn OM, PC was a British Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor. Initially a journalist, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1883...
when he was Chief Secretary for Ireland
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
. In the by-election, Pease had the support of the wine-merchant and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Sir Walter Gilbey
Walter Gilbey
Sir Walter Gilbey, 1st Baronet DL was an English wine-merchant and philanthropist.He was born at Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire to parents Henry and Elizabeth Gilbey...
from nearby Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...
who promised to address a meeting of farmers on Pease’s behalf.
Conservatives
The UnionistsConservative 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...
chose Charles Wing Gray, an Essex farmer whose home was at Halstead
Halstead
Halstead is a town and civil parish located in Braintree District of Essex, England, near Colchester and Sudbury. It has a population of 11,053. The town is situated in the Colne Valley, and originally developed on the hill to the north of the river...
. Gray had twice contested the seat before. At the 1895 election
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...
he had reduced the Liberal majority from 1,881 to 425 and in 1900
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**...
he had brought it down to just 110. He had continued working locally to try and eliminate it altogether and must have had high hopes of victory at the by-election. Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
had at this time a reputation as a town with strong Quaker influences and a prominent member of the Society of Friends, E B Gibson, was one of Gray’s nominators.
Agriculture
Saffron Walden constituency at this time was a large rural entity, stretching across north EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
from Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
to Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
with the town itself the only real centre of population, the rest of the division being made up of 86 scattered villages. Unsurprisingly then, agricultural questions loomed large with the electorate. The dominant message from the Unionists was the need for the election of an Essex man with a practical understanding of the needs of agriculture and farming. They also painted Pease as someone who had done damage to agriculture by voting in previous Parliaments against resolutions introduced in the agricultural interest. They quoted in particular Pease’s support for an increase in death duties
Inheritance tax
An inheritance tax or estate tax is a levy paid by a person who inherits money or property or a tax on the estate of a person who has died...
which had led estate owners to reduce outgoings, discharging servants and agricultural labourers. They also attacked Pease for his opposition in 1896 to the Agricultural Rating Act, designed to reduce the burden of 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...
on agricultural land. Pease found himself under attack from the local branch of the Rural Labourers’ League which openly declared itself for Gray. The League had been founded by Jesse Collings
Jesse Collings
Jesse Collings was Mayor of Birmingham, England, a Liberal member of Parliament, but was best known nationally in the UK as an advocate of educational reform and land reform.-Background:...
, a former Liberal MP who opposed Irish Home Rule and became 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...
. Collings had always supported agricultural causes and land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
including the provision of allotments
Allotment (gardening)
An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...
and the campaigns characterised by the slogan Three acres and a cow
Three acres and a cow
Three acres and a cow was a slogan used among land reform campaigners of the 1880s, and revived by the distributists of the 1920s. It refers to ideal land holding for every citizen....
. The Rural Labourers’ League brought up the failure of former Liberal governments to legislate for the provision of allotments, despite alleged promises to do so and also challenged Pease on his position on Home Rule, underscoring its Liberal Unionist heritage, even though this seemed to have little resonance as an issue among other electors. In return, Pease made play of the government’s proposals for a sugar tax and the addition to labourers’ household expenses this was likely to bring.
Sir Walter Gilbey made good his promise to speak for Pease but the start of the meeting did not go well. It had been advertised as a meeting for farmers but there were many present who were townspeople and probably some from outside the area. This led to protests and a walk-out by the farmers attending, leaving large sections of the hall empty. Holding their own meeting in Saffron Walden market place, the farmers objected that the meeting had been organised to give the impression that farmers were supporting the Radical
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
candidate, which many clearly had no intention of doing. They pledged their support to Mr Gray and had probably determined to walk out or demonstrate for the Conservative at some point no matter what. Pease continued to campaign against the importation of foreign agricultural products and the need for government action to help make the land more productive. He accused the government of indifference to agriculture, which he claimed was more intensely felt in Essex than any other county. In his election address Pease alleged that rate relief was not applied fairly, with rich accommodation land elsewhere benefitting at the expense of arable land
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
such as predominated in Essex. He also complained of the unequal burden of increased taxation on workers and labourers.
The war in South Africa
The Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
was a divisive issue in British politics at the turn of the 20th century. The war had resulted in the victory of the Conservative Party in the 1900 general election, which was dubbed the Khaki election
Khaki Election
In British political history, a khaki election is any national election which is heavily influenced by wartime or postwar sentiment. In the British general election of 1900, the Conservative Party government of Lord Salisbury was returned to office with an increased majority over the Liberal Party...
. But what had at first been seen as a brief Imperial
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
engagement turned slowly into a protracted and bloody conflict. Opposition to the War
Opposition to the Second Boer War
Opposition to the Second Boer War in Britain was modest when the war began on 11 October 1899 and was always less widespread than support for it, let alone prevailing indifference. However, influential groups formed immediately and ineffectually against the war, including the South African...
was strengthened by the use of concentration camps by the British Army against the Dutch civilian population. This policy was eventually characterised by Liberal leader 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...
as ‘methods of barbarism’. Gray was determined to play the khaki card again and held a meeting at Saffron Walden Town Hall on 29 May 1901 with the Marquis of Graham
Douglas Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose
Douglas Beresford Malise Ronald Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose KT was a Scottish nobleman.The 3rd son of 4th Duke and Caroline Agnes, youngest daughter of the 2nd Lord Decies, he was educated at Eton College and succeeded his father in 1874.He joined the Coldstream Guards in 1872, transferred to...
and D J Morgan MP
David John Morgan
David John Morgan was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician.Morgan was the son of D T Morgan of Whipps Cross, Walthamstow, Essex, and his wife Mary née Ridge...
in support. Graham described the war as a clash between civilization and progress (on the British side) and slavery, bribery and corruption on the Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
side. He jingoistically declared that the struggle to decide who should ‘boss’ South Africa, British or Dutch, would be fought to the finish regardless of cost.
It seems likely that some traditional Liberal voters may have felt unwilling to vote against a popular, patriotic war in 1900 and consequently supported the Tory
Tory
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...
at that general election. By May 1901 however the shine was starting to come off the military brass. A Liberal supporting election leaflet, “A Soldier’s Indictment of the Present Government” signed by “Tommy Atkins
Tommy Atkins
Tommy Atkins is a term for a common soldier in the British Army that was already well established in the 19th century, but is particularly associated with World War I. It can be used as a term of reference, or as a form of address. German soldiers would call out to "Tommy" across no man's land if...
” was circulating in the last days of the contest.
The result
Pease held the seat for the Liberals with an increased majority. In 1900, Armine Wodehouse’s majority over Gray had been 110. Pease increased this to 792 at the by-election. While a Liberal victory in a seat which had been Liberal since its creation for the 1885 general electionUnited 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:...
could have been anticipated, the size of the win was larger than forecast. Once the result was declared, the Conservatives pleaded a lack of voter registration and organisation in the run-up to the poll but Gray had fought the seat in 1895
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...
and 1900 and had made inroads into the Liberal majority. In addition, Gray was the local candidate compared with the carpetbagger
Carpetbagger
Carpetbaggers was a pejorative term Southerners gave to Northerners who moved to the South during the Reconstruction era, between 1865 and 1877....
Pease looking for a safe Parliamentary billet having been ousted by the voters of Tyneside and with no local credentials. It seems the impact of the Boer War was wearing off as an electoral asset for the Tories and the agricultural issues seemed to work in favour of the Liberals, particularly the concerns about the impact of the sugar tax on those with low wages in the countryside. It is possible that, as is usual in politics, the electorate may have been beginning to turn against the government, which had by this time been in office for six years. However other by-election results around this time in agricultural seats were not as propitious for the Liberals and saw an increase in the Unionist vote.