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1905 Elgin Burghs by-election

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The 1905 Elgin Burghs by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 8 September 1905.[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

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Alexander Asher had been Liberal MP for the seat of Elgin Burghs since the 1881 Elgin Burghs by-election. He died on 5 August 1905, causing a by-election.[2]

Electoral history

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The seat had been Liberal since the party was founded in 1859. They easily held the seat at the last election, with a comfortable majority;

 
Alexander Asher
General election 1900: Elgin Burghs[3] Electorate 4,535
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Alexander Asher 1,744 59.5 −2.0
Conservative John Moffat 1,187 40.5 +2.0
Majority 557 19.0 −4.0
Turnout 2,931 64.6 −3.3
Liberal hold Swing -2.0

Candidates

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  • On 17 August the local Liberal Association selected 51-year-old John Sutherland as their candidate to defend the seat.[4] He had not stood for Parliament before. He was born in nearby Lossiemouth.[5] He was educated at Aberdeen University.[6] He was a partner in the firm of J & P Sutherland, fish curers of Portsoy.[7]
  • The local Conservative Association selected 52-year-old Patrick Rose-Innes as their candidate to gain the seat.[8] He also had not stood for Parliament before. He was born in Aberdeenshire and educated at Aberdeen University. He had been a barrister since 1878.[9]

Campaign

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Polling day was fixed for 8 September 1905, 34 days after the death of the previous MP.

Result

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There was a large swing of over 11% to the Liberals who comfortably held the seat:

Elgin Burghs by-election, 1905[10] Electorate 4,748
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Sutherland 2,474 70.8 +11.3
Conservative Patrick Rose-Innes 1,021 29.2 −11.3
Majority 1,453 41.6 +22.6
Turnout 3,495 73.6 +9.0
Liberal hold Swing +11.3

The result was the biggest victory that the Liberals had ever had in the constituency.

Aftermath

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Sutherland was re-elected at the following General Election. The result was:

General election 1906: Elgin Burghs [11] Electorate 4,867
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Sutherland 2,742 77.7 +6.9
Conservative E.N.B. Mackenzie 786 22.3 −6.9
Majority 1,956 55.4 +13.8
Turnout 3,528 72.5 −1.1
Liberal hold Swing +6.9

Rose-Innes was not his opponent and instead contested West Lothian in 1906, the 1907 Jarrow by-election and Middleton in 1910 without success. Sutherland remained as the MP until his death in 1918.

References

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  1. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 99.
  2. ^ 'ASHER, Alexander', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, April 2014 accessed 13 May 2014
  3. ^ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
  4. ^ "Election Intelligence." The Times. London, England. 18 August 1905. p. 5. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 May 2014.
  5. ^ The Times, 19 August 1918
  6. ^ The Times, House of Commons, 1910; Politico's Publishing 2004, p. 94
  7. ^ The Times, 19 August 1918
  8. ^ "News in Brief." Times [London, England] 8 Aug. 1905: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 May 2014.
  9. ^ 'ROSE-INNES, His Honour Sir Patrick', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 13 May 2014
  10. ^ The Times, 11 September 1905, p. 4
  11. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
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