1913 Whitechapel by-election
The 1913 Whitechapel by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 30 April 1913.[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]Sir Stuart Samuel the Liberal MP for Whitechapel undertook a contract for the Public Service, which required him to resign his seat and face re-election.[citation needed]
Electoral history
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Stuart Samuel | 1,731 | 59.2 | +0.9 | |
| Conservative | Edgar Monteagle Browne | 1,191 | 40.8 | −0.9 | |
| Majority | 540 | 18.4 | +1.8 | ||
| Turnout | 2,922 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +0.9 | |||
Candidates
[edit]Sir Stuart Samuel had been Liberal MP for the seat since 1900[citation needed] and the seat had been Liberal since it was created in 1885.[citation needed] He was opposed by Edgar Browne, who had been his Unionist opponent in December 1910.[citation needed]
Campaign
[edit]Votes for women
[edit]The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, following the adoption of their new policy to not support Liberal candidates, chose not to support either candidate and instead opened a local office from which to carry out propaganda work. The smaller Women's Freedom League, a breakaway group from the Women's Social and Political Union who favoured direct action but opposed violence, also set up a local campaign office. However, the WFL's position on by-elections was specifically anti-government, so they campaigned against the return of the Liberal candidate Samuel and thus by definition in support of his Unionist opponent, Browne.[3]
Result
[edit]Stuart Samuel retained the seat for the Liberal Party.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Stuart Samuel | 1,722 | 52.5 | −6.7 | |
| Unionist | Edgar Monteagle Browne | 1,556 | 47.5 | +6.7 | |
| Majority | 166 | 5.0 | −13.4 | ||
| Turnout | 3,278 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -6.7 | |||
Aftermath
[edit]Samuel retired from politics in 1916 and the Liberals held the resulting by-election unopposed.