1904 Sowerby by-election
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The 1904 Sowerby by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 2 July 1904.[1] The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
Vacancy
[edit]John William Mellor had been Liberal MP for the seat of Sowerby since the 1892 General Election. Aged 69, he chose to retire from parliament.
Electoral history
[edit]The seat had been Liberal since creation in 1885. They easily held the seat at the last election, with a reduced majority:
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/97/John_William_Mellor.jpg/120px-John_William_Mellor.jpg)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | John William Mellor | 5,528 | 57.6 | −1.1 | |
Conservative | John Bailey | 4,067 | 42.4 | +1.1 | |
Majority | 1,461 | 15.2 | −2.2 | ||
Turnout | 9,595 | 80.0 | +2.3 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | -1.1 |
Candidates
[edit]The local Liberal Association selected 47 year-old Accrington businessman, John Sharp Higham as their candidate to defend the seat. He was Mayor of Accrington from 1899–1901.[5] The local Conservative Association selected 24 year-old William Simpson-Hinchliffe as their candidate.[6]
Result
[edit]The Liberals held the seat from the Conservatives:
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/John_Higham.jpg/120px-John_Higham.jpg)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | John Sharp Higham | 6,049 | 60.9 | +3.3 | |
Conservative | William Simpson-Hinchliffe | 3,877 | 39.1 | −3.3 | |
Majority | 2,172 | 21.8 | +6.6 | ||
Turnout | 9,926 | 80.6 | +0.6 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | +3.3 |
Aftermath
[edit]At the following General Election the result was:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | John Sharp Higham | 6,482 | 61.6 | +0.7 | |
Conservative | William Simpson-Hinchliffe | 4,034 | 38.4 | −0.7 | |
Majority | 2,448 | 23.2 | +1.4 | ||
Turnout | 10,516 | 84.2 | +3.6 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | +0.7 |
References
[edit]- ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 98.
- ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ^ The Liberal Year Book, 1907
- ^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
- ^ ‘HIGHAM, John Sharp’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 14 Feb 2017
- ^ ‘SIMPSON-HINCHLIFFE, William Algernon’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 14 Feb 2017
- ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ^ The Liberal Year Book, 1907