1904 Sowerby by-election

The 1904 Sowerby by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 2 July 1904.^[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

John William Mellor had been Liberal MP for the seat of Sowerby since the 1892 General Election. Aged 69, he chose to retire from parliament.

Electoral history

The seat had been Liberal since creation in 1885. They easily held the seat at the last election, with a reduced majority:

General election 1900: Sowerby ^[2]^[3]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John William Mellor	5,528	57.6	−1.1
	Conservative	John Bailey	4,067	42.4	+1.1
Majority			1,461	15.2	−2.2
Turnout			9,595	80.0	+2.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	-1.1

Candidates

The local Liberal Association selected 47 year-old Accrington businessman, John Sharp Higham as their candidate to defend the seat. He was Mayor of Accrington from 1899–1901.^[5] The local Conservative Association selected 24 year-old William Simpson-Hinchliffe as their candidate.^[6]

Result

The Liberals held the seat from the Conservatives:

Sowerby by-election, 1904 ^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Sharp Higham	6,049	60.9	+3.3
	Conservative	William Simpson-Hinchliffe	3,877	39.1	−3.3
Majority			2,172	21.8	+6.6
Turnout			9,926	80.6	+0.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.3

Aftermath

At the following General Election the result was:

General election 1906: Sowerby ^[8]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Sharp Higham	6,482	61.6	+0.7
	Conservative	William Simpson-Hinchliffe	4,034	38.4	−0.7
Majority			2,448	23.2	+1.4
Turnout			10,516	84.2	+3.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.7

References

^ Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 98.
^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
^ The Liberal Year Book, 1907
^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
^ ‘HIGHAM, John Sharp’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 14 Feb 2017
^ ‘SIMPSON-HINCHLIFFE, William Algernon’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 14 Feb 2017
^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
^ The Liberal Year Book, 1907

[1] Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 98.

[2] British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig

[3] The Liberal Year Book, 1907

[4] Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901

[5] ‘HIGHAM, John Sharp’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 14 Feb 2017

[6] ‘SIMPSON-HINCHLIFFE, William Algernon’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 14 Feb 2017

[7] British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig

[8] British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig

[9] The Liberal Year Book, 1907

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