Ilkeston by-election, 1912

The Ilkeston by-election was a Parliamentary by-election in Derbyshire. 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

Jack Seely had been Liberal MP for the seat of Ilkeston since the Ilkeston by-election, 1910. In 1912, he was promoted to the Cabinet and appointed Secretary of State for War and required to seek re-election.^[1]

Electoral history

General Election December 1910: Ilkeston^[2] Electorate 19,467

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rt Hon. John Edward Bernard Seely	9,990	62.7	+2.9
	Conservative	William Marshall Freeman	5,946	37.3	-2.9
Majority			4,044	25.4	+5.8
Turnout				81.9	-5.8
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.9

Candidates

• Seely was elected Member of Parliament for the Isle of Wight in 1900, as a Unionist. He crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party in 1904. He was returned as a Liberal for Liverpool Abercromby in 1906 but was defeated in January 1910. He was quickly found a new seat at Ilkeston shortly after. He served as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies under Herbert Henry Asquith between 1908 and 1911, as Under-Secretary of State for War from 1911 to 1912, and became a member of the Privy Council in 1909.^[3]
• William Marshall Freeman, who had contested the election here as Conservative candidate in December 1910 was re-adopted as Conservative candidate.
• The Independent Labour Party considered running John Thomas White as candidate but the national Labour Party leadership did not wish to see Seely opposed.^[4]

Campaign

Polling Day was set for 1 July 1912.

Result

Despite the mid-term unpopularity of the Liberal Government, Seely was re-elected, albeit with a much reduced majority.

Ilkeston by-election, 1912^[5] Electorate 20,670

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rt Hon. John Edward Bernard Seely	9,049	53.6	-9.1
	Unionist	William Marshall Freeman	7,838	46.4	+9.1
Majority			1,211	7.2	-18.2
Turnout				81.7	-0.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	-9.1

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.

• Liberal: Jack Seely
• Unionist: William Marshall Freeman
• The Labour Party chose not to run a candidate when the National Union of Railwaymen chose to endorse Seely.

Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place. When an election did finally take place after the war, Seely was again re-elected.

General Election 1918: Ilkeston^[6] Electorate 28,896

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Maj-Gen. Rt Hon. John Edward Bernard Seely	9,660	54.8	+1.2
	Labour	George Harold Oliver	7,962	45.2	n/a
Majority			1,698	9.6
Turnout				61.0	-19.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

Seely was endorsed by the Coalition Government. The local Unionists felt obliged to support Seely, however at the following general election in 1922 Freeman was once more their candidate but he finished third.

References

1. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig, F.W.S
2. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig, F.W.S
3. Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
4. From Liberal to Labour with Women's Suffrage: The Story of Catherine Marshall By Jo Vellacott
5. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig, F.W.S
6. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig