1909 High Peak by-election
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The High Peak by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 22 July 1909.[1] The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
Vacancy[edit]
Oswald Partington had been Liberal MP for the seat of High Peak since the 1900 general election. On 5 July 1909, he was appointed as a Junior Lord of the Treasury, which meant, in accordance with the times, that he was required to resign his seat and seek re-election to parliament.
Electoral history[edit]
The seat had been Liberal since Partington gained it from the Conservatives in 1900. He easily held the seat at the last election, with an increased majority;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Oswald Partington | 5,450 | 53.9 | ||
| Conservative | Albert Profumo | 4,662 | 46.1 | ||
| Majority | 788 | 7.8 | +6.0 | ||
| Turnout | 10,112 | 90.7 | +4.1 | ||
| Liberal hold | Swing | ||||
Candidates[edit]
The local Liberal Association re-selected 37-year-old Oswald Partington to defend the seat. The Conservatives retained 30-year-old barrister Albert Profumo as their candidate. He had unsuccessfully tried to re-gain the seat from Partington at the last election.[3]
Campaign[edit]
Polling Day was fixed for 22 July, allowing for a short 17-day campaign.
On 9 July the Liberals retained a by-election in Cleveland, Yorkshire. On 15 July, the Liberals retained a by-election in nearby Mid Derbyshire. On 20 July, the Liberals retained a by-election in Dumfries Burghs.[2]
The major incident of the campaign was Partington's challenge to fight a reporter of the Sheffield Daily Telegraph. The presses of that paper had been used to print the High Peak Elector, a campaign newspaper published by the Conservatives, which Partington claimed had slighted his wife, Clara.[4]
Result[edit]
The Liberals held the seat and managed a slightly reduced majority;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Oswald Partington | 5,619 | 51.5 | -2.3 | |
| Conservative | Albert Profumo | 5,272 | 48.4 | +2.3 | |
| Majority | 347 | 3.2 | -4.6 | ||
| Turnout | 10,891 | 91.1 | +0.4 | ||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -2.3 | |||
Aftermath[edit]
Partington retained the seat at the following General Election;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Oswald Partington | 5,912 | 50.5 | -1.1 | |
| Conservative | Samuel Hill-Wood | 5,806 | 49.5 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 106 | 1.0 | -2.2 | ||
| Turnout | 11,718 | 94.4 | +3.3 | ||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -1.1 | |||