1898 Liverpool Kirkdale by-election

The 1898 Liverpool Kirkdale by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in England on 9 December 1898 for the British House of Commons constituency of Liverpool Kirkdale.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant when the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), Sir George Baden-Powell had died on 20 November 1898, aged 50.^[1] He had held the seat since its creation for the 1885 general election, and had been re-elected with comfortable majorities at each of the three subsequent general elections.^[2]

Candidates

Several names were floated as possible Conservative candidates for the seat. On 26 November, The Times newspaper reported that those being considered included:^[3]

David MacIver, the chair of the Liverpool Conservatives who had been the MP for nearby Birkenhead from 1874 until he stood down at the 1885 general election,^[4] owing to business commitments^[5]
Alderman John Houlding, a former Lord Mayor of Liverpool
Joseph Hoult, a local ship-owner
Sir Edward P. Bates, the son of former Plymouth MP Sir Edward Bates, 1st Baronet

The Liberal Party had already adopted as their candidate for the next election William Nelson, a ship-owner and Liverpool City Councillor.^[3]

By the time Kirkdale Conservative Association met on 29 November, the local executive committee had already sent a telegram to 40-year-old Austin Taylor, inviting to be their candidate.^[5] Taylor, who was president of the Laymen's League and son of the Archdeacon of Liverpool, had deferred his answer until the day of the meeting. At the meeting, the divisional council refused to be bound by the decision of their executive, and the names of David MacIver and John Houlding were also formally proposed.^[5]

After a discussion described by The Times as "long and animated", a substantial majority voted to select MacIver,^[5] a ship-owner whose father Charles had been manager of the Cunard Line from 1865 to 1897.

The Liberals met on 1 December, and lamented their lack of preparedness. Local ship-owner Sir Christopher Furness had been invited to stand, but declined. Another ship-owner, H. Bell, had also turned down a request, and the meeting rejected a proposal to adopt Thomas Snape, the former MP for Heywood.^[6] The meeting decided to ask the Liberal whips in Westminster to suggest potential candidates,^[6] as a result of which an approach was made to Sir Spencer Walpole, who rejected the invitation.^[7] The Times reported that several other unsuccessful approaches had been made. Kirkdale had a large Irish Nationalist population, so any candidate needed the support of both Liberals and Nationalists, but local councillor Thomas J. Flynn also refused to accept nomination despite an offer to meet all his election expenses.^[7]

Result

By the time nominations closed on 9 December, the Liberals had still not chosen a candidate. MacIver was the only candidate nominated, so the poll had been scheduled for 15 December, but never took place. MacIver was returned unopposed.^[2]^[8]

Aftermath

MacIver was re-elected at the general elections in 1900 and 1906,^[2] and held the seat until his death in September 1907 caused another by-election.^[9]

References

^ "Obituary: Sir George Baden-Powell". The Times. 21 November 1898. p. 8. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)
^ ^a ^b ^c Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1989]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 142. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
^ ^a ^b "Election intelligence". The Times. 26 November 1898. p. 13. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)
^ Debrett's House of Commons, and the Judicial Bench. London: Dean & Son. 1901. p. 97. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Election intelligence". The Times. 30 November 1898. p. 6. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)
^ ^a ^b "Election intelligence". The Times. 2 December 1898. p. 10. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)
^ ^a ^b "Election intelligence". The Times. 6 December 1898. p. 10. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)
^ The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 169 (193 in web page)
^ "Death of a Member of Parliament". The Times. 2 September 1907. p. 7. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)

[times-1898-11-21-1] "Obituary: Sir George Baden-Powell". The Times. 21 November 1898. p. 8. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)

[craig1885-1918-2] Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1989]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 142. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.

[times-1898-11-26-3] "Election intelligence". The Times. 26 November 1898. p. 13. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)

[debrett-maciver-4] Debrett's House of Commons, and the Judicial Bench. London: Dean & Son. 1901. p. 97. Retrieved 30 August 2012.

[times-1898-11-30-5] "Election intelligence". The Times. 30 November 1898. p. 6. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)

[times-1898-12-02-6] "Election intelligence". The Times. 2 December 1898. p. 10. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)

[times-1898-12-06-7] "Election intelligence". The Times. 6 December 1898. p. 10. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)

[Year_Book-8] The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 169 (193 in web page)

[times-1907-09-02-a-9] "Death of a Member of Parliament". The Times. 2 September 1907. p. 7. Retrieved 30 August 2012.(subscription required)

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v t e By-elections in Liverpool
1801–1832	Liverpool, 1830
1832–1885	Liverpool, 1842 Liverpool, 1853 Liverpool, 1855 Liverpool, 1873 Liverpool, 1874 Liverpool, February 1880 Liverpool, August 1880 Liverpool, 1882
1885–1900	Walton, 1886 Exchange, 1887 West Derby, 1888 Everton, 1892 West Derby, 1893 East Toxteth, 1895 Exchange, 1897 Kirkdale, 1898
1900–1918	East Toxteth, 1902 West Derby, 1903 Everton, 1905 Kirkdale, 1907 Kirkdale, 1910 Kirkdale, 1915 East Toxteth, 1916 Abercromby, 1917
1918–1945	West Derby, 1919 Exchange, 1922 Edge Hill, 1923 West Toxteth, 1924 Scotland, 1929 East Toxteth, 1929 Wavertree, 1931 East Toxteth, 1931 Exchange, 1933 West Derby, 1935 Wavertree, 1935 West Toxteth, 1935
1945–present	Edge Hill, 1947 West Derby, 1954 Garston, 1957 Scotland, 1964 Scotland, 1971 Edge Hill, 1979 Walton, 1991
Lists of UK by-elections 1868–1885 1885–1900 1900–1918 1918–1931 1931–1950 1950–1979 1979–2010 2010–present