1911 Wellington by-election

The Wellington by-election of 1911 was held when the sitting MP Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood was elevated to the peerage. The by-election was won by the conservative candidate Dennis Boles.

The Vacancy

Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood had been Conservative MP for Wellington, Somerset since 1892. The seat had been Conservative since it was gained from the Liberals in 1886. He was raised to the peerage as Baron St Audries, of St Audries in the County of Somerset and given a seat in the House of Lords.

Electoral history

Acland-Hood was returned at the last election unopposed. In the previous election the result was;

General Election January 1910: Electorate 10,299

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood	5,216	55.7	+4.2
	Liberal	W. King	4,150	44.3	−4.2
Majority			1,066	11.4	+8.4
Turnout				90.9	+2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.2

The Candidates

Devonian Dennis Boles was chosen by the Conservatives to defend the seat, having never stood for parliament before. The Liberals also chose a first time candidate in C.H. Dudley Ward.

The Result

By-Election 21 July 1911: Electorate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dennis Fortescue Boles	5,025
	Liberal	Charles Humble Dudley Ward	4,421
Majority
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

Aftermath

A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the autumn 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: Electorate 10,854

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Dennis Fortescue Boles
	Liberal

Following boundary changes the seat was abolished and mostly replaced by Taunton

General Election 14 December 1918: Taunton Electorate 28,845

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Lt-Col. Dennis Fortescue Boles	12,619
	Labour	Rev. George Saville Woods	4,816
Majority
Turnout
	Unionist hold		Swing

• Boles was the endorsed candidate of the Coalition Government.