1908 Hastings by-election
The1908Hastingsby-electionwas aParliamentary by-electionheld on 3 March 1908.[1]The constituency returned oneMember of Parliament(MP) to theHouse of Commons of the United Kingdom,elected by thefirst past the postvoting system.
Vacancy[edit]
The seat had become vacant following the resignation of the sittingUnionistMP,Harvey Du Cros,on grounds of ill health. He had been the MP for the seat ofHastingssince the 1906 general election.
Electoral history[edit]
The seat had been Conservative since they gained it in 1906 against the national swing, having surprisingly lost it to the Liberals in 1900.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Harvey du Cros | 4,348 | 52.5 | +4.1 | |
Liberal | Freeman Freeman-Thomas | 3,935 | 47.5 | -4.1 | |
Majority | 413 | 5.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 8,283 | 94.6 | +13.7 | ||
ConservativegainfromLiberal | Swing | +4.1 |
Candidates[edit]
The Conservatives quickly adopted 37-year-oldArthur Du Cros,son of the former MP, as their new candidate. He had been born and raised in Dublin before entering the family rubber tyre manufacturing business in the Birmingham area. In 1906 Du Cros unsuccessfully contested the London seat ofBow & Bromleyas aConservativecandidate.
TheLiberalshad no local candidate because their previous candidateFreeman Freeman-Thomashad since been elected at a by-election. There was a delay in selecting 30-year-oldRobert Vernon Harcourt,the son ofSir William Harcourtas their man.[2]Harcourt was educated atEton CollegeandTrinity College, Cambridge,where he took honours in the HistoryTripos.[3][4]At Cambridge, he was a committee member ofCambridge University Liberal Clubfrom 1899 to 1900.[5]Harcourt went into theForeign Service,serving as a clerk on the diplomatic establishment of theForeign Officefrom 1900 to 1906.[6]He was then briefly engaged in journalism, being parliamentary correspondent of the magazine Tribune. He stood unsuccessfully for theLondon County Councilseat ofMile Endin 1907, as aProgressive.He was standing for parliament for the first time.
Campaign[edit]
Polling Day was fixed for 3 March 1908. The themes raised in the by-election ranged over many issues of the day and the clash between what was seen as the local man (Du Cros) versus the government incomer (Harcourt), even though they were both outsiders to the area.
Harcourt promoted his candidacy as that of a strong supporter of free trade.
Members of the militantWomen's Social and Political Unionwere in Hastings campaigning for the Conservative candidate, even though he was an opponent of women's suffrage, while the Liberal candidate was a supporter.[7]
Result[edit]
The Conservatives held the seat and managed an increased majority;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Arthur Du Cros | 4,495 | 56.4 | +3.9 | |
Liberal | Robert Harcourt | 3,477 | 43.6 | -3.9 | |
Majority | 1,018 | 12.8 | +7.8 | ||
Turnout | 7,972 | 91.6 | -3.0 | ||
Conservativehold | Swing | +3.9 |
Both theSussex ExpressandThe Timesnewspapers were agreed that the Unionist victory was "first and foremost [due] toTariff Reformand particularly to the colonial preference side of the question ".
Aftermath[edit]
Harcourt had to wait only a few more weeks to get into Parliament. He was adopted as Liberal candidate at a by-election atMontrose Burghsfollowing the elevation to the peerage of the sitting member there, the veteran LiberalJohn Morley,was elected on 12 May 1908, and served as Member for Montrose until 1918. Du Cros held Hastings at the subsequent General Election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Arthur Du Cros | 4,634 | 54.7 | -1.7 | |
Liberal | R.Tweedy-Smith | 3,833 | 45.3 | +1.7 | |
Majority | 801 | 9.4 | -3.4 | ||
Turnout | 8,467 | 93.8 | +2.2 | ||
Conservativehold | Swing | -1.7 |
Du Cros held the seat until1918when he transferred to stand as aCoalition ConservativeinClapham,a seat he held until1922.
References[edit]
- ^Craig, F.W.S. (1987).Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987.Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 102.
- ^Ian Ivatt,The 1908 Hastings By-Electionin Journal of Liberal History, Issue 59 – Summer 2008
- ^"Harcourt, Robert Vernon (HRCT897RV)".A Cambridge Alumni Database.University of Cambridge.
- ^Who Was Who,OUP 2007
- ^"About us".28 February 2009.
- ^The Times House of Commons 1910;Politico's Publishing, 2004 p. 97
- ^"PARLIAMENTARY FRANCHISE (WOMEN) BILL. (Hansard, 28 March 1912)".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).28 March 1912.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1974).British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918(1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
- Who's Who: ukwhoswho
- Debrett's House of Commons(1916)