1913 Flint Boroughs by-election

The Flint Boroughs 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

James Summers who had been Liberal MP for Flint Boroughs since January 1910, died on 1 January 1913.

Previous result

General election December 1910 Electorate 4,060

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Woolley Summers	2,098	56.9	+1.4
	Conservative	Henry Richard Lloyd Howard	1,589	43.1	−1.4
Majority			509	13.8	+2.8
Turnout			3,687	90.8	−4.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.4

Candidates

The Liberals selected Thomas Parry to defend the seat. The constituency included Parry’s home town of Mold where he was a prominent lawyer.

Campaign

The Liberals had held the seat since gaining it from the Conservatives in 1847.

Result

Thomas Parry

Flint Boroughs by-election, 1913 Electorate 4,350

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Henry Parry	2,152	52.6	−4.3
	Unionist	J. Hamlet Roberts	1,941	47.4	+4.3
Majority			211	5.2	−8.6
Turnout			4,093	94.1	+3.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	-4.3

Aftermath

A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.

General Election 1914/15: Flint Boroughs Electorate 4,560

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Henry Parry
	Unionist

The constituency disappeared in boundary changes in 1918 so Parry transferred to the county seat of Flintshire. Parry received the coalition government coupon at the 1918 general election and was returned unopposed

References

• Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
• Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
• Debrett's House of Commons 1916