1888 Mid Lanarkshire by-election

The 1888 Mid Lanarkshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 27 April 1888 for the House of Commons constituency of Mid Lanarkshire in Scotland.

## Previous MP

[edit]

The seat had become vacant in April 1888.[1] The constituency's Liberal Member of Parliament, Stephen Mason resigned from his seat. He did this by being appointed Steward of the Manor of Northstead, a notional office of profit under the Crown, which is used to permit MPs to vacate their seats as Members of the House of Commons cannot technically resign from their seats.

Mason (1832–1890) was a Glasgow merchant, who had been the MP for the constituency since the 1885 general election. He was known for having written pamphlets on political topics, such as monetary and land questions, the Anglo-French treaty of 1860 and banking in Scotland.[2]

## Candidates

[edit]

Three candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.

1\. The Liberal Party candidate was John Wynford Philipps (30 May 1860 – 28 March 1938). He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1886.

Philipps contested Devizes at the 1886 general election. He was MP for this seat from the by-election until he resigned in 1894. He was subsequently elected MP for Pembrokeshire at an 1898 by-election. He sat for the Welsh county until he was created the 1st Lord St Davids in 1908. He was advanced in the peerage as the 1st Viscount St Davids in 1918.[3]

2\. The Conservative candidate was William Robert Bousfield (12 January 1854 – 16 July 1943), admitted to the bar of England and Wales in 1880.

Bousfield was elected MP for Hackney North at a by-election in 1892 and retained that seat until he was defeated in 1906.[4]

3\. Representing the Labour interest, as an Independent Labour candidate, was the Lanarkshire born (James) Keir Hardie (15 August 1856 – 26 September 1915).

Hardie had a background as a manual worker, which was unusual for a political candidate in 1888. Previously some working men, with a trade union background, had been elected to Parliament as Liberal-Labour candidates but none without Liberal support.

Hardie had worked as a miner. He became a trade unionist and then a journalist. At the time of the by-election he was a member of the Liberal Party, but the local Liberal Association rejected him as its candidate at the by-election.

Hardie subsequently was a leading figure in the development of the Labour Party. He was elected Independent Labour MP for West Ham South in 1892 and sat until defeated in 1895. During this time he was the person who presided over the meeting which created the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1893. Hardie contested Bradford East for the ILP in a by-election in 1896 and Preston at the 1900 general election for the Labour Representation Committee (LRC). He also contested and won Merthyr Tydfil in the 1900 election. The LRC was renamed the Labour Party in 1906. Hardie was the Parliamentary Labour Party Chairman (its de facto leader) from 1906 until 1908. He continued to represent Merthyr Tydfil until he died in 1915.[5]

## Votes

[edit]

27 April 1888 by-election: Mid Lanarkshire [6][7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | John Philipps | 3,847  | 52.1  | −4.5
| Conservative | William Bousfield | 2,917  | 39.5  | −4.0
| Independent Labour | Keir Hardie | 617  | 8.4  | New
Majority  | 930  | 12.6  | −0.4
Turnout | 7,381  | 80.7  | +5.9
| Liberal hold | Swing |  |
Registered electors | 9,143  |  |

* Resignation of Mason, April 1888

General election 1886: Mid Lanarkshire[8] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | Stephen Mason | 3,779  | 56.5  | +17.5
| Liberal Unionist | James Widrington Shand-Harvey  | 2,909  | 43.5  | +8.5
Majority  | 870  | 13.0  | +9.0
Turnout | 6,688  | 74.8  | −7.6
| Liberal hold | Swing | +4.5  |
Registered electors | 8,939  |  |

## See also

[edit]

* Mid Lanarkshire constituency
* List of United Kingdom by-elections (1885–1900)
* United Kingdom by-election records

## References

[edit]

* British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)

1. ^ Punch, in its edition of 28 April 1888 referred to the moving of the Writ on Monday 16 April.

> "Writ moved today for election for Mid-Lanarkshire. So exit STEPHEN MASON. Pity he wasn't here just another night to take part in revolt against Lord Advocate ...".

2. ^ Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886–1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
3. ^ (1) Craig. (2) Who Was Who, Vol. III 1929–1940 (Adam and Charles Black 1947).
4. ^ (1) Craig. (2) Who Was Who, Vol. IV 1941–1950 (Adam and Charles Black, 3rd edition 1964).
5. ^ (1) Craig. (2) Dictionary of Labour Biography, edited by Greg Rosen (Politico's Publishing 2001).
6. ^ Craig
7. ^ The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 182 (206 in web page)
8. ^ (1) Craig. (2) Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889

* v
* t
* e

« 23rd Parliament « By-elections to the 24th Parliament of the United Kingdom » 25th Parliament »

1886|

* August: Birmingham East
* Brighton
* Bristol West
* Croydon
* Hampstead
* Lewisham
* Liverpool Walton
* Manchester East
* Marylebone East
* Paddington South
* Plymouth
* Sheffield Ecclesall
* Strand
* Bute
* Ealing
* Enfield
* Horncastle
* Isle of Wight
* St George
* Tiverton
* Wigtownshire
* Cambridge University
* West Down
* Dublin University
* Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
* Melton
* Newton
* North Northamptonshire
* Blackpool
* Burton
* Leith Burghs
* King's Lynn
* November: Brighton
* December: Brentford

1887|

* January: Liverpool Exchange
* February: Dartford
* South Donegal
* North Longford
* South Sligo
* St George's, Hanover Square
* North Antrim
* Burnley
* March: Ilkeston
* April: Taunton
* May: North East Cork
* St Austell
* July: Spalding
* Dublin University
* Paddington North
* Coventry
* St Ives
* Basingstoke
* Brixton
* Hornsey
* City of London
* Forest of Dean
* August: Cambridge University
* Glasgow Bridgeton
* Northwich
* County Carlow
* Ramsey
* September: South Kerry
* November: Cambridge University
* December: Dulwich

1888|

* January: Winchester
* February: Dublin University
* Liverpool Walton
* Dundee
* Southwark West
* Edinburgh West
* Bristol West
* Doncaster
* Hampstead
* Deptford
* March: Chichester
* Merthyr Tydfil
* Melton
* Gower
* April: Limerick
* Mid Lanarkshire
* May: Dublin St Stephen's Green
* Southampton
* June: Ayr Burghs
* Isle of Thanet
* South Longford
* July: South Sligo
* August: Liverpool West Derby
* October: Merthyr Tydfil
* November: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
* Dewsbury
* Holborn
* December: Maidstone
* Colchester
* Stockton-on-Tees

1889|

* January: Govan
* February: East Perthshire
* Burnley
* March: Barnsley
* Kennington
* Gorton
* Enfield
* April: Birmingham Central
* Rochester
* June: South East Cork
* July: West Fife
* Dover
* West Carmarthenshire
* Marylebone East
* August: Belfast North
* September: Dundee
* Sleaford
* October: Peterborough
* Elginshire and Nairnshire
* Buckingham
* Brighton

1890|

* February: Partick
* Mid Glamorgan
* West Waterford
* March: St Pancras North
* Stamford
* Stoke-upon-Trent
* Ayr Burghs
* East Down
* West Cavan
* April Windsor
* Caernarvon Boroughs
* May: Bristol East
* East Galway
* Mid Tipperary
* West Donegal
* June: North Donegal
* July: Barrow-in-Furness
* Mid Durham
* August: East Carmarthenshire
* October: Eccles
* November: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
* December: Bassetlaw
* North Kilkenny

1891|

* January: The Hartlepools
* February: Northampton
* March: North Wexford
* Aston Manor
* April: North Sligo
* City of London
* Woodstock
* Whitehaven
* May: Stowmarket
* South Dorset
* Harborough
* Strand
* Buckingham
* June: Paisley
* West Derbyshire
* City of London
* July: County Carlow
* Wisbech
* August: Walsall
* Lewisham
* October: Manchester North East
* Bute
* Cambridge University
* Strand
* North Kilkenny
* November: Cork City
* South Molton
* Leeds North
* East Dorset
* December: Chichester
* Mid Armagh
* Waterford City

1892|

* January: Rossendale
* February: Liverpool Everton
* March: Chertsey
* South Derbyshire
* Belfast East
* North Wexford
* Kirkcaldy Burghs
* East Worcestershire
* April: Luton
* Chelmsford
* May: Hackney North

Lists of UK by-elections
1801–1806
1806–1818
1818–1832
1832–1847
1847–1857
1857–1868
1868–1885
1885–1900
1900–1918
1918–1931
1931–1950
1950–1979
1979–2010
2010–present
Northern Ireland
Hereditary peers

* v
* t
* e

By-elections in Scotland to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom 1868–1899 » 1900–1949 »

1860s|

* January 1868: Kirkcudbrightshire
* January 1869: Renfrewshire
* Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire
* Wigtown Burghs
* Hawick Burghs
* March 1869: Dumfriesshire
* August 1869: Caithness
* November 1869: Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities

1870s|

* March 1870: Roxburghshire
* February 1872: Wick Burghs
* June 1872: Aberdeen
* December;1872: Kincardineshire
* Forfarshire
* January 1873: Orkney and Shetland
* February 1873: Wigtownshire
* June 1873: Berwickshire
* August 1873: Dundee
* September 1873: Renfrewshire
* December 1873: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
* March 1874: Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities
* Inverness-shire
* Falkirk Burghs
* April 1985: Kirkcaldy Burghs
* December 1875: East Aberdeenshire
* May 1876: West Aberdeenshire
* November 1876: Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities
* January 1878: Greenock
* Leith Burghs
* Perth
* February 1878: Perthshire
* August 1878: Haddington Burghs
* Argyllshire
* February 1879: Haddington Burghs
* July 1879: Glasgow
* September 1879: Elginshire and Nairnshire

1880s|

* May 1880: Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire
* Wigtown Burghs
* July 1880: Bute
* Wigtown Burghs
* November 1880: Renfrewshire
* December 1880: Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire
* January 1881: Edinburgh
* July 1881: Elgin Burghs
* August 1881: Elgin Burghs
* May 1882: Hawick Burghs
* August 1882: Haddington Burghs
* November 1882: Edinburgh
* February 1883: Haddingtonshire
* August 1884: Ross and Cromarty
* October 1884: Stirling Burghs
* November 1884: Greenock
* March 1885: Glasgow
* July 1885: Bute
* January 1886: Edinburgh South
* February 1886: Edinburgh South
* Stirling Burghs
* Midlothian
* Hawick Burghs
* Elgin Burghs
* Banffshire
* Berwickshire
* Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire
* August 1886: Buteshire
* Wigtownshire
* Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
* Leith Burghs
* August 1887: Glasgow Bridgeton
* February 1888: Dundee
* Edinburgh West
* April 1888: Mid Lanarkshire
* June 1888: Ayr Burghs
* November 1888: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
* January 1889: Govan
* February 1889: East Perthshire
* July 1889: West Fife
* September 1889: Dundee
* October 1889: Elginshire and Nairnshire

1890s|

* February 1890: Partick
* March 1890: Ayr Burghs
* November 1890: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
* June 1891: Paisley
* October 1891: Buteshire
* March 1892: Kirkcaldy Burghs
* August 1892: Aberdeen South
* Glasgow Bridgeton
* ]Midlothian
* Forfarshire
* Elgin Burghs
* Stirling Burghs
* Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire
* East Fife
* September 1892: Dundee
* December 1892: East Aberdeenshire
* March 1893: Banffshire
* June 1893: Linlithgowshire
* March 1894: Leith Burghs
* Hawick Burghs
* Berwickshire
* April 1894: Mid Lanarkshire
* May 1894: Dumfries Burghs
* November 1894: Forfarshire
* May 1895: Edinburgh West
* June 1895: Inverness-shire
* August 1895: Inverness Burghs
* February 1896: Montrose Burghs
* May 1896: Aberdeen North
* Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
* June 1896: Wick Burghs
* January 1897: Forfarshire
* February 1897: Glasgow Bridgeton
* February 1899: North West Lanarkshire
* June 1899: Edinburgh South
* Edinburgh East
* December 1899: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities

Lists of UK by-elections
1801–1806
1806–1818
1818–1832
1832–1847
1847–1857
1857–1868
1868–1885
1885–1900
1900–1918
1918–1931
1931–1950
1950–1979
1979–2010
2010–present
Northern Ireland
Hereditary peers
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template