1889 Gorton by-election
The 1889 Gorton by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 22 March 1889 for the British House of Commons in the Gorton Division of Lancashire.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant on the death of the sitting Liberal MP Richard Peacock on 3 March 1889. Peacock had held the seat since the 1885 general election.[1]
Candidates
The Liberal Party selected William Mather a 50-year-old industrialist, the head of an engineering firm in Salford and the former MP for Salford South.
The Conservatives, who were backed by their Liberal Unionist allies, selected Ernest Hatch. Hatch was aged 29, a wine merchant from London but had been active in the Gorton constituency for his party since June 1888.[2]
Issues
The principal issue of the by-election was Irish home rule. Indeed, Mather declared it was the only question to be settled in the contest and hoped that the electors would not be influenced by any side issues. The Irish and Roman Catholic communities in the area had their own political organisations. While they were solidly behind the Liberal Party, they valued their independence and campaigned separately. During the by-election, they set up their own election committee on behalf of Mather and canvassed in their own end of the constituency.[3] Even the local priests were out campaigning for him.[4] For his part, Hatch stated the Irish had no cause for grievance and strongly defended the Irish policies of the government of Lord Salisbury.[5]
Despite Mather’s plea, it was not possible for all other political questions to be excluded from the campaign. Trade, foreign affairs and the naval building programme also intruded [6] as did the issue of temperance with the main temperance organisations supporting Mather and the brewers backing Hatch.[7]
The result
Mather held the seat for the Liberals with a slightly increased majority of 846 as opposed to Peacock’s 457 at the 1886 general election.[8] This may nevertheless have been something of a disappointment. In the course of the Parliament so far the Liberals had gained nine seats from the Conservatives or Liberal Unionists and one from the Irish Parliamentary Party. They had lost only one seat to the Liberal Unionists (at Doncaster by a very narrow margin).[9] It was reported that the Liberals had been confident of a much larger majority for Mather and that as the numbers of Irish electors in the division was about 1100, without that sectional support the seat might well have been lost.[10]
Mather went on to hold the seat at the 1892 general election with a reduced majority of 222.[11] At this election the Liberals came back to government under Mr Gladstone. Perhaps Mather's disappointing majority at the by-election had been something of a portent however. His own majority was down and nationally the party, which had expected to win an outright majority in the House of Commons, was in effect a minority government governing with the support and consent of the Irish MPs.[12]
Votes
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Mather | 5,155 | 54.5 | ||
Conservative | Ernest Hatch | 4,309 | 45.5 | ||
Majority | 846 | 9.0 | |||
Turnout | 9,464 | 88.7 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing |
References
- ^ The Times, 4 March 1889 p6
- ^ The Times, 9 March 1889 p12
- ^ James Moore, The transformation of urban Liberalism: party politics and urban governance in late 19th century England; Ashgate Publishing, 2006 p81
- ^ The Times, 19 March 1889 p10
- ^ The Times, 11 March 1889 p7
- ^ The Times, 11 March 1889 p7
- ^ The Times, 13 March 1889 p11
- ^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918; Macmillan, 1974 p317
- ^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918; Macmillan, 1974 p434
- ^ The Times, 25 March 1889 p6
- ^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918; Macmillan, 1974 p317
- ^ H C G Matthew, Gladstone, 1875-1898; Clarendon Press, 1995 p328
- ^ The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 147 (171 in web page), Lancashire South East
- v
- t
- e
- August: Birmingham East
- Brighton
- Bristol West
- Croydon
- Hampstead
- Lewisham
- Liverpool Walton
- Manchester East
- Marylebone East
- Paddington South
- Plymouth
- Sheffield Ecclesall
- Strand
- Bute
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Horncastle
- Isle of Wight
- St George
- Tiverton
- Wigtownshire
- Cambridge University
- West Down
- Dublin University
- Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
- Melton
- Newton
- North Northamptonshire
- Blackpool
- Burton
- Leith Burghs
- King's Lynn
- November: Brighton
- December: Brentford
- January: Liverpool Exchange
- February: Dartford
- South Donegal
- North Longford
- South Sligo
- St George's, Hanover Square
- North Antrim
- Burnley
- March: Ilkeston
- April: Taunton
- May: North East Cork
- St Austell
- July: Spalding
- Dublin University
- Paddington North
- Coventry
- St Ives
- Basingstoke
- Brixton
- Hornsey
- City of London
- Forest of Dean
- August: Cambridge University
- Glasgow Bridgeton
- Northwich
- County Carlow
- Ramsey
- September: South Kerry
- November: Cambridge University
- December: Dulwich
- January: Winchester
- February: Dublin University
- Liverpool Walton
- Dundee
- Southwark West
- Edinburgh West
- Bristol West
- Doncaster
- Hampstead
- Deptford
- March: Chichester
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Melton
- Gower
- April: Limerick
- Mid Lanarkshire
- May: Dublin St Stephen's Green
- Southampton
- June: Ayr Burghs
- Isle of Thanet
- South Longford
- July: South Sligo
- August: Liverpool West Derby
- October: Merthyr Tydfil
- November: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
- Dewsbury
- Holborn
- December: Maidstone
- Colchester
- Stockton-on-Tees
- January: Govan
- February: East Perthshire
- Burnley
- March: Barnsley
- Kennington
- Gorton
- Enfield
- April: Birmingham Central
- Rochester
- June: South East Cork
- July: West Fife
- Dover
- West Carmarthenshire
- Marylebone East
- August: Belfast North
- September: Dundee
- Sleaford
- October: Peterborough
- Elginshire and Nairnshire
- Buckingham
- Brighton
- February: Partick
- Mid Glamorgan
- West Waterford
- March: St Pancras North
- Stamford
- Stoke-upon-Trent
- Ayr Burghs
- East Down
- West Cavan
- April Windsor
- Caernarvon Boroughs
- May: Bristol East
- East Galway
- Mid Tipperary
- West Donegal
- June: North Donegal
- July: Barrow-in-Furness
- Mid Durham
- August: East Carmarthenshire
- October: Eccles
- November: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
- December: Bassetlaw
- North Kilkenny
- January: The Hartlepools
- February: Northampton
- March: North Wexford
- Aston Manor
- April: North Sligo
- City of London
- Woodstock
- Whitehaven
- May: Stowmarket
- South Dorset
- Harborough
- Strand
- Buckingham
- June: Paisley
- West Derbyshire
- City of London
- July: County Carlow
- Wisbech
- August: Walsall
- Lewisham
- October: Manchester North East
- Bute
- Cambridge University
- Strand
- North Kilkenny
- November: Cork City
- South Molton
- Leeds North
- East Dorset
- December: Chichester
- Mid Armagh
- Waterford City
- January: Rossendale
- February: Liverpool Everton
- March: Chertsey
- South Derbyshire
- Belfast East
- North Wexford
- Kirkcaldy Burghs
- East Worcestershire
- April: Luton
- Chelmsford
- May: Hackney North
- 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