1911 Hitchin by-election

The 1911 Hitchin by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 23 November 1911.^[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

Dr Alfred Peter Hillier had been the Conservative MP for Hitchin since regaining the seat from the Liberals in January 1910. He committed suicide on 24 October 1911 in his home at 20 Eccleston Square, London, England.

Electoral history

General election December 1910: Hitchin^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Peter Hillier	5,233	57.0	−2.8
	Liberal	Thomas Tylston Greg	3,942	43.0	+2.8
Majority			1,291	14.0	−5.6
Turnout			9,175	84.3	−4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.8

Candidates

The new Conservative candidate was Robert Cecil who had been Conservative MP for Marylebone East until January 1910. In 1910 he unsuccessfully contested Blackburn in the January election and Wisbech in the December election. Thomas Tylston Greg, who had been the Liberal candidate last time was again chosen to contest the seat.

Result

The Conservative Party held the seat with an increased majority.

Hitchin by-election, 1911^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Cecil	5,542	58.6	+1.6
	Liberal	Thomas Tylston Greg	3,909	41.4	−1.6
Majority			1,633	17.2	+3.2
Turnout			9,451	84.8	+0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.6

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. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.

Unionist: Robert Cecil
Liberal:

General election 14 December 1918: Hitchin ^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Robert Cecil	9,828	60.6	+2.0
	Labour	Robert Green	5,661	34.9	New
	NFDDSS	George Humm	722	4.5	New
Majority			4,167	25.7	+8.5
Turnout			16,211	54.4	−30.4
Registered electors			29,820
	Unionist hold		Swing
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

References

^ Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 106.
^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
^ British parliamentary election results, 1918-1949 (Craig)

[1] Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 106.

[2] Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916

[3] British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)

[4] British parliamentary election results, 1918-1949 (Craig)

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