Thomas Parry (Boston MP)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Parry was a British Liberal Party
politician from Sleaford
in Lincolnshire
. He sat in the House of Commons for three short periods between 1865 and 1874.
He was elected at the 1865 general election
as a Member of Parliament
(MP) for the borough of Boston
in Lincolnshire
, but an election petition
was lodged and the result was overturned on 21 March 1866 in favour of the other Liberal candidate Meaburn Staniland.
Staniland resigned from the Commons
on 8 March 1867, and Parry was returned unopposed in his place at a by-election on 16 March. He did not stand at the 1868 general election
, but was re-elected at the 1874 general election
. That result was the subject of another election petition, which led to 353 of Parry's 1,347 votes being struck off, thereby making John Wingfield Malcolm
the winner of the second seat. The bribery was so extensive that even more votes could have been struck off, but the process was stopped on 8 June 1874 when Malcolm had a nominal majority of two votes. A Royal Commission
was established to enquire into the electoral process in the borough.
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...
politician from Sleaford
Sleaford
Sleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...
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...
. He sat in the House of Commons for three short periods between 1865 and 1874.
He was elected at the 1865 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1865
The 1865 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals, led by Lord Palmerston, increase their large majority over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives to more than 80. The Whig Party changed its name to the Liberal Party between the previous election and this one.Palmerston died later in the same...
as a 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) for the borough of Boston
Boston (UK Parliament constituency)
Boston was a parliamentary borough in Lincolnshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1547 until 1885, and then one member from 1885 until 1918, when the constituency was abolished.-History:...
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...
, but an election petition
Election petition
An election petition refers to the procedure for challenging the result of a Parliamentary election or local government election in the United Kingdom and in Hong Kong.- Outcomes :...
was lodged and the result was overturned on 21 March 1866 in favour of the other Liberal candidate Meaburn Staniland.
Staniland resigned from the Commons
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
on 8 March 1867, and Parry was returned unopposed in his place at a by-election on 16 March. He did not stand at the 1868 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1868
The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...
, but was re-elected at the 1874 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1874
-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
. That result was the subject of another election petition, which led to 353 of Parry's 1,347 votes being struck off, thereby making John Wingfield Malcolm
John Malcolm, 1st Baron Malcolm
Lieutenant-Colonel John Wingfield Malcolm, 1st Baron Malcolm CB, VD was a British soldier and Conservative politician.-Background and education:...
the winner of the second seat. The bribery was so extensive that even more votes could have been struck off, but the process was stopped on 8 June 1874 when Malcolm had a nominal majority of two votes. A Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
was established to enquire into the electoral process in the borough.