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1911 Ross and Cromarty by-election

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The 1911 Ross and Cromarty by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 14 June 1911.[1] It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Vacancy

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James Galloway Weir died. He had been the sitting Liberal MP since 1892.

Electoral history

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This was a safe Liberal seat that the party had won at every election since 1847. Weir was returned at the last general election in December 1910. The previous contested election before that was the General Election in January 1910;

General election January 1910: Ross and Cromarty[2] Electorate 8,211
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal James Galloway Weir 4,430 75.8 +7.1
Liberal Unionist Neil Maclean 1,418 24.2 −7.1
Majority 3,012 51.6 +14.2
Turnout 5,848 71.2 +1.4
Liberal hold Swing +7.1

Candidates

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Campaign

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Result

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Polling took place on 14 June. Macpherson easily held the seat for the Liberals. Compared with the last contested election, his share of the vote only dropped by 1%;

Ian MacPherson
1911 Ross and Cromarty by-election[2] Electorate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Ian Macpherson 3,717 74.8 −1.0
Liberal Unionist William Templeton 1,253 25.2 +1.0
Majority 2,464 49.6 −2.0
Turnout 4,970 60.2 −11.0
Liberal hold Swing -1.0

Aftermath

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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 was postponed. Macpherson supported the Lloyd George Coalition Government and received their endorsement at the 1918 election.

General election 14 December 1918: Ross and Cromarty[4] Electorate 20,685
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Ian Macpherson 8,358 78.9 +4.1
Independent Hector Munro 2,238 21.1 New
Majority 6,120 57.8 +8.2
Turnout 10,596 51.2 −9.0
Liberal hold Swing N.A

Templeton did not contest the 1918 elections but was later elected as MP for Banffshire.

References

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  1. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 105.
  2. ^ a b British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by F.W.S. Craig (1974)
  3. ^ "Templeton, William Paterson, (1876–1938)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO.
  4. ^ British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 by F.W.S. Craig (1974)