1912 Edinburgh East by-election
The
Vacancy
Sir James Gibson had been Liberal MP for the seat of Edinburgh East since the 1909 Edinburgh East by-election. On 10 January 1912 his poor health was reported by The Times, who commented that he had been ill for some time. His death was reported two days later.
Electoral history
The seat had been won by a Liberal at every election since it was created in 1885. The result at the last election was as follows.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | James Gibson | 6,436 | 63.0 | +1.7 | |
Liberal Unionist
|
R M Cameron | 3,782 | 37.0 | -1.7 | |
Majority | 2,654 | 26.0 | +3.4 | ||
Turnout | 10,218 | 81.0 | -7.0 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing |
However, at the by-election in 1909, the Liberal majority had been reduced to 458 votes - 5.4%.
Candidates
When the by-election was first announced, the Conservative Party had already chosen John Gordon Jameson as their prospective candidate and he was quickly adopted. He was an advocate and son of
It took the Liberals a bit longer to settle on a candidate. There was early speculation that
Campaign
Jameson, the Unionist candidate unsurprisingly sought to champion opposition to two Liberal Government policies, the
For the Liberal, Hogge stood for Irish and Scottish Home Rule, universal adult suffrage, temperance reform and the reform of the land laws.[5] He also favoured the abolition of the House of Lords.
The Edinburgh branch of the National Society for Women's Suffrage after questioning both candidates unsurprisingly chose to support the Liberal, James Hogge. The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies also chose to use interest in the by-election to promote women's suffrage through a series of local meetings.
Result
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | James Myles Hogge
|
5,064 | 55.0 | -8.0 | |
Liberal Unionist | John Gordon Jameson | 4,139 | 45.0 | +8.0 | |
Majority | 925 | 10.0 | -16.0 | ||
Turnout | 9,203 | 73.7 | -7.3 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | -8.0 |
Unsurprisingly, the Liberal majority was well down on what it had been at the last General election, however, the majority was nearly twice as much as it had been following the by-election in 1909.
Aftermath
A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the autumn of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election.
- Liberal: James Myles Hogge
- Unionist:
Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | James Myles Hogge
|
8,460 | 62.2 | +7.2 | |
National Democratic |
|
5,136 | 37.8 | New | |
Majority | 3,324 | 24.4 | +14.4 | ||
Turnout | 13,596 | 52.5 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
- Balfour was the endorsed candidate of the Coalition Government.
References
- ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 107.
- ^ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig, F.W.S. (1974)
- ^ The Times, 23 January 1912 p7
- ^ The Times (London, England), Friday, 19 January 1912; p. 8
- ^ The Times (London, England), Tuesday, 23 January 1912; p. 7
- ^ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig, F.W.S. (1974)