North East Lanarkshire by-election, 1904

The North East Lanarkshire by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Vacancy

Sir William Henry Rattigan had been Liberal Unionist MP for the seat of North East Lanarkshire since the North East Lanarkshire by-election, 1901. He died on 4 July 1904 at the age of 62.^[1]

Electoral history

The seat had been Liberal Unionist since they gained it in 1901;

North East Lanarkshire by-election, 1901^[2] Electorate 16,894
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Sir William Henry Rattigan	5,673	42.6	-1.3
	Liberal	Cecil Bisshopp Harmsworth	4,769	35.7	-20.4
	Scottish Workers	Robert Smillie	2,900	21.7	n/a
Majority				6.9	19.1
Turnout				79.0
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

Candidates

The Conservatives selected 43-year-old George Touche to defend the seat. In 1883 he was admitted to the Society of Accountants in Edinburgh. In 1889 he was appointed first secretary of the Industrial and General Trust, later becoming manager, director in 1898. In 1899 he founded his own practice, George A. Touch & Co.^[3]
The local Liberal Association selected 60-year-old Alexander Findlay as their candidate.
Thirty-seven-year-old John Robertson stood as candidate for the Scottish Workers' Representation Committee. He was Chairman of the Scottish Miners' Union.

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for 10 August 1904.

Result

The Liberals gained the seat from the Conservatives;

George Touche

North East Lanarkshire by-election, 1904^[4] Electorate 18,922
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Alexander Findlay	5,619	39.3	+3.6
	Conservative	George Alexander Touche	4,677	32.8	-9.8
	Scottish Workers	John Robertson	3,984	27.9	+6.2
Majority			942	6.5	13.4
Turnout				75.5	-3.5
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing

Aftermath

At the following General Election the result was;

John Robertson

General Election January 1906^[5] Electorate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Alexander Findlay	6,436	40.4	+1.1
	Conservative	Hugh Elliot	4,838	30.4	-2.4
	Scottish Workers	John Robertson	4,658	29.2	+1.3
Majority				10.0	+3.5
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

References

↑ Who's Who;www.whoswho.com
↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
↑ Who's Who;www.whoswho.com
↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig

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1900	December: Dover Preston Guildford Wellington Woodbridge West Derbyshire Blackpool North Monaghan

1901	February: Stretford March: Maidstone May: Monmouth Boroughs Mid Cork Oswestry Saffron Walden June: Stratford-on-Avon July: Wokingham August: Andover September: North East Lanarkshire November: Galway

1902	January: Hampstead Dewsbury February: Sheffield Ecclesall East Down South Down North Kilkenny March: South Monaghan Wakefield April: West Donegal Woolwich May: Bury July: Leeds North August: Clitheroe Tiverton East Worcestershire Belfast South Sevenoaks October: Devonport November: Cleveland Liverpool East Toxteth Orkney and Shetland

1903	January: Newmarket Liverpool West Derby February: South Antrim East Perthshire Dublin University March: Galway Woolwich Rye North Fermanagh Chertsey April: Camborne May: Preston South Kildare July: Barnard Castle August: Argyll September: St Andrews Burghs Rochester October: North Leitrim South Meath Belfast West Warwick and Leamington Westhoughton Fareham Londonderry November: Chorley Ludlow December: Dulwich Lewisham

1904	January: Ashburton Norwich Gateshead Ayr Burghs February: City of London St Albans Birmingham South March: Normanton Rossendale East Dorset Dublin St Stephen's Green April: Isle of Wight June: West Cavan Harborough Devonport July: Sowerby Chertsey Oswestry August: Reading North East Lanarkshire Cork October: Isle of Thanet November: West Monmouthshire Horsham

1905	January: Stalybridge Mile End North Dorset February: North Kildare Liverpool Everton March: Appleby Buteshire April: Brighton June: Whitby Chichester Cork North Donegal Finsbury East July: Kingswinford West Down Carlisle September: Elgin Burghs Belfast North October: Barkston Ash Hampstead November: Normanton December: New Forest

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