1905 Brighton by-election

The Brighton by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It was one of only eight ministerial by-elections in the UK not to be retained by the incumbent.

Vacancy

Gerald Loder had been Conservative MP for the seat of Brighton since the 1889 Brighton by-election. He vacated his seat upon appointment as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury so as to seek re-election.

Electoral history

Brighton returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. The seat had been Conservative since they gained it in 1885. They easily held both seats at the last election:

General election January 1900^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Gerald Loder	7,858	40.8
	Conservative	Bruce Vernon-Wentworth	6,626	34.6
	Ind. Conservative	J. Kensit	4,693	24.5
Turnout			19,177	62.2
Majority			1,933	10.1
	Conservative hold		Swing
Majority			1,232	6.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Candidates

The Conservatives re-selected 44-year-old Gerald Loder to defend the seat. He was private secretary to the President of the Local Government Board (Charles Ritchie) from 1888 to 1892 and to Lord George Hamilton (the Secretary of State for India) from 1896 to 1901.^[2]

The local Liberal Association selected 42-year-old Ernest Villiers as their candidate. He was ordained as an Anglican priest. After three years as a curate in Halifax, he became rector of Haveringland, Norfolk. He resigned from holy orders to pursue a political career.^[3]

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for 5 April 1905.

Result

The Liberals gained the seat from the Conservatives:

Brighton by-election, 1905^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Villiers	8,209	52.6
	Conservative	Gerald Loder	7,392	47.4
Majority			817	5.2	N/A
Turnout			15,601	76.3
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Aftermath

At the following General Election, the Liberals gained the other seat from the Conservatives, the result was:

General election January 1906^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Villiers	9,062	26.4	N/A
	Liberal	Aurelian Ridsdale	8,919	26.0
	Conservative	George Tryon	8,188	23.8
	Conservative	John Gordon	8,176	23.8
Majority			731	2.2
Turnout			34,345	82.5
	Liberal hold		Swing
Majority
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

References

^ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
^ Who's Who
^ Who's Who
^ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
^ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig

[1] British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig

[2] Who's Who

[3] Who's Who

[4] British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig

[5] British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e « 26th Parliament « By-elections to the 27th Parliament of the United Kingdom » 28th Parliament »
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: Argyllshire September: St Andrews Burghs Rochester October: North Leitrim South Meath Belfast West Warwick and Leamington Westhoughton Fareham Londonderry November: Chorley December: Dulwich Lewisham Ludlow
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 City 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
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