Shrewsbury by-election, 1913
The Shrewsbury by-election, 1913 was a parliamentary by-election held in England in April 1913 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Shrewsbury in Shropshire.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when Shrewsbury's Conservative MP Sir Clement Hill died aged 67 on 9 April 1913, after a bout of influenza led to pneumonia and pleurisy.[1] A diplomat for 40 years before entering politics, he had held the seat since the 1906 general election.[1] Shrewsbury had elected only Conservative Party MPs to the House of Commons since 1885.
Candidates
The Unionist candidate was George Butler Lloyd,[2] a Marlborough and Cambridge-educated banker whose home was at Shelton Hall, near Shrewsbury.[3] Butler Lloyd was an alderman of Shrewsbury Corporation and had been Mayor of Shrewsbury for 1886-87.[3]
The local Liberal Party was keen to field as a candidate Thomas Pace, who had contested the seat in December 1910[2] as a Liberal-Labour candidate,[4] but party headquarters regarded a contest as inexpedient.[2] When nominations closed on 19 April, Butler Lloyd faced only one opponent, the independent candidate J. Robert Morris.[5]
Campaign
On 21 April, the eve of poll, the former MP Horatio Bottomley spoke on behalf on Morris at a meeting of thousands of people in the town,[6] where the principal speakers for Butler Lloyd were Henry Page Croft MP and William Bridgeman MP.[6]
Result
Polling took place on 22 April, and Butler Lloyd held the seat with a slightly increased majority of 685 votes (16.6% of the total).[4]
| Shrewsbury by-election, 1913 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Unionist | George Butler Lloyd | 2,412 | 58.3 | +1.7 | |
| Independent | James Robert Morris | 1,727 | n/a | ||
| Majority | 685 | 16.6 | +3.4 | ||
| Turnout | 4,139 | 81.0 | −6.6 | ||
| Unionist hold | Swing | ||||
Aftermath
Butler Lloyd held the seat for nine years. The parliamentary borough of Shrewsbury was abolished at the 1918 general election, but was replaced by a larger county division of the same, where Butler Lloyd was re-elected.[7] He retired from the House of Commons at the 1922 general election.
References
- 1 2 "Obituary: Sir Clement Hill". The Times (London). 10 April 1913. pp. 9, col C.
- 1 2 3 "The Shrewsbury Vacancy. Liberals And A Contest". The Times (London). 16 April 1913. pp. 13, col B.
- 1 2 "Obituary: Mr. G. B. Lloyd". The Times (London). 2 April 1930. pp. 19, col C.
- 1 2 Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 188. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
- ↑ "The Shrewsbury vacancy". The Times. 21 April 1913. pp. 8, col C.
- 1 2 "The Shrewsbury Vacancy. Polling To-Day". The Times (London). 22 April 1913. pp. 14, col G.
- ↑ Hesilridge, Arthur G. M. (1922). Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1922. London: Dean & Son. p. 96.