Portsmouth by-election, 1900
The Portsmouth by-election, 1900 was a parliamentary by-election held on 3 May 1900 for one of the two seats in the British House of Commons constituency of Portsmouth in Hampshire.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Walter Clough had resigned his seat on 23 April 1900 by the technical device of accepting appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead, a notional "office of profit under The Crown". The writ for the by-election was moved in the Commons three days later, on 26 April.[1]
Previous result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal |  Sir John Baker |
10,451 | 26.1 | +0.2 | |
| Liberal | Walter Owen Clough |
10,255 | 25.6 | +0.3 | |
| Conservative | Alfred Charles William Harmsworth | 9,717 | 24.3 | -0.2 | |
| Liberal Unionist | Rt Hon. Anthony Evelyn Melbourne Ashley | 9,567 | 23.9 | -0.3 | |
| Turnout | 39,990 (20,129 voted) | 83.7 | +3.1 | ||
Candidates
The Liberal Party selected Thomas Bramsdon, a 43-year-old solicitor and a native of Portsmouth. The Conservative Party selected 29-year-old James Majendie.
Results
The result was a narrow victory for Bramsdon.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Thomas Arthur Bramsdon | 10,287 | 51.4 | ||
| Conservative | James Henry Alexander Majendie | 9,708 | 48.6 | ||
| Majority | 579 | 2.8 | |||
| Turnout | 19,995 | 74.9 | −8.8% | ||
| Liberal hold | Swing | ||||
However, he held the seat only briefly; at the general election in October 1900, he lost his seat to Majendie.
See also
- Portsmouth constituency
- Portsmouth by-election, 1916
- Portsmouth
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election records
References
- ↑ "House of Commons debates". Hansard. 26 April 1900. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ↑ The Constitiutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 172 (196 in web page)
- Bibliography
- Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 171. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.