Rossendale by-election, 1917
Encyclopedia
The Rossendale by-election, 1917 was a parliamentary by-election
held for the British House of Commons
constituency of Rossendale
on 13 February 1917.
MP, Lewis Harcourt as the first Viscount Harcourt of Stanton Harcourt
in Oxfordshire
. Harcourt had himself been elected as MP for Rossendale in a by-election in 1904.
. Maden had been the local MP from 1892
until 1900
when he stood down. Maden was the current mayor
of Bacup
and a cotton manufacturer by trade. The Unionists
being partners in the wartime coalition government of David Lloyd George
did not oppose Maden but an organisation called the British Citizen Party indicated they would stand a candidate in the election.
In the end at a special meeting of Socialists and representatives of organised labour at Waterfoot, Lancashire it was agreed to run a Labour candidate on a peace ticket. The meeting chose Albert Taylor, the secretary of the Rossendale Slipper Operatives Union. Taylor was a conscientious objector
but had been exempted from combatant service on condition he agree to undertake other work of national importance. He declined to do this.
Taylor stood as a peace party candidate. His description in the press was ‘Peace by Negotiation’ candidate. However on 30 January 1917 he was fined £2 for refusing to do non-combatant military service and was detained. This did not prevent his nomination as a candidate but it did mean he was unable to campaign in the by-election, being in the custody of the military authorities.
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 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 Rossendale
Rossendale (UK Parliament constituency)
Rossendale was a parliamentary constituency in the Lancashire, England. Created in 1885, it elected 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...
on 13 February 1917.
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the elevation to the peerage 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, Lewis Harcourt as the first Viscount Harcourt of Stanton Harcourt
Stanton Harcourt
Stanton Harcourt is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southeast of Witney and west of Oxford.-Archaeology:Within the parish of Stanton Harcourt is a series of paleochannel deposits buried beneath the second gravel terrace of the river Thames...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. Harcourt had himself been elected as MP for Rossendale in a by-election in 1904.
Candidates
The Rossendale Liberal Council selected as their candidate Sir John Henry MadenJohn Henry Maden
Sir John Henry Maden was a British Liberal Party politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Rossendale in 1892, resigning in 1900 by becoming Steward of the Manor of Northstead...
. Maden had been the local MP from 1892
United Kingdom general election, 1892
The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...
until 1900
Rossendale by-election, 1900
The Rossendale by-election, 1900 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Rossendale in Lancashire on 13 February 1900.-Vacancy:...
when he stood down. Maden was the current mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Bacup
Bacup
Bacup is a town within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. It is located amongst the South Pennines, along Lancashire's eastern boundary with West Yorkshire. The town sits within a rural setting in the Forest of Rossendale, amongst the steep-sided upper-Irwell Valley, through which the...
and a cotton manufacturer by trade. The Unionists
Conservative 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...
being partners in the wartime coalition government of David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
did not oppose Maden but an organisation called the British Citizen Party indicated they would stand a candidate in the election.
In the end at a special meeting of Socialists and representatives of organised labour at Waterfoot, Lancashire it was agreed to run a Labour candidate on a peace ticket. The meeting chose Albert Taylor, the secretary of the Rossendale Slipper Operatives Union. Taylor was a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
but had been exempted from combatant service on condition he agree to undertake other work of national importance. He declined to do this.
Issues
There were no domestic of local issues of any importance in the by-election. Maden had stated publicly that he would not raise any such questions, saying that personal opinions on ‘minor matters’ had no place on the hustings and that he stood simply on the platform of supporting the present, or any other government, which worked to bring the war to a successful conclusion. He did hold a public meeting in Bacup on 10 February 1917 but the centre piece of the event was his reading a telegram from H H Asquith supporting his candidacy as part of a united front to win the war.Taylor stood as a peace party candidate. His description in the press was ‘Peace by Negotiation’ candidate. However on 30 January 1917 he was fined £2 for refusing to do non-combatant military service and was detained. This did not prevent his nomination as a candidate but it did mean he was unable to campaign in the by-election, being in the custody of the military authorities.
The result
Maden was re-elected as Liberal MP for Rossendale in support of the government coalition with a comfortable majority over Taylor.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...