John Wilson, who had been the Liberal MP since 1890 died on the 24 March 1915 at the age of 78. Wilson was sponsored by the Durham Miners Association, an organisation that he had helped to found. When the Miners Federation of Great Britain decided in 1909 to request all miners sponsored MPs to take the Labour party whip, Wilson with the support of the Durham miners, refused and continued to take the Liberal whip. The Labour party was unwilling to go against the Durham miners wishes, and allowed Wilson to continue to represent Mid Durham.
The new Liberal candidate selected was Samuel Galbraith, who was one of the leading figures in the Durham Miners Association. The Labour party had hoped that following the death of Wilson, they would be able to either get a leading Durham miner to stand, such as Joseph Batey as their candidate or get a socialist to stand. However, once the Durham Miners decided to back the Liberal Galbraith, a Labour candidate did not materialise. The Unionists, who had not contested the seat for some time also decided not to contest the election. The fact that Britain was now at war also contributed to the Unionist and Labour parties not contesting the seat.
The Mid Durham constituency was abolished and replaced by Spennymoor for the 1918 general election. At that election, Galbraith was again returned, defeating Labour's Joseph Batey.
Referencesedit
^Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 110.
April 14, 2024
1915, durham, election, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, mar. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 1915 Mid Durham by election news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message The 1915 Mid Durham by election was a Parliamentary by election held on 29 April 1915 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 Contents 1 The Vacancy 2 Electoral history 3 The Candidates 4 The Result 5 The Aftermath 6 ReferencesThe Vacancy editJohn Wilson who had been the Liberal MP since 1890 died on the 24 March 1915 at the age of 78 Wilson was sponsored by the Durham Miners Association an organisation that he had helped to found When the Miners Federation of Great Britain decided in 1909 to request all miners sponsored MPs to take the Labour party whip Wilson with the support of the Durham miners refused and continued to take the Liberal whip The Labour party was unwilling to go against the Durham miners wishes and allowed Wilson to continue to represent Mid Durham Electoral history edit nbsp John WilsonGeneral election December 1910 Mid Durham Electorate 15 832 Party Candidate Votes Liberal John Wilson Unopposed N A N ALiberal holdThe Candidates editThe new Liberal candidate selected was Samuel Galbraith who was one of the leading figures in the Durham Miners Association The Labour party had hoped that following the death of Wilson they would be able to either get a leading Durham miner to stand such as Joseph Batey as their candidate or get a socialist to stand However once the Durham Miners decided to back the Liberal Galbraith a Labour candidate did not materialise The Unionists who had not contested the seat for some time also decided not to contest the election The fact that Britain was now at war also contributed to the Unionist and Labour parties not contesting the seat The Result editBy Election 29 April 1915 Electorate 17 486 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Samuel Galbraith Unopposed N A N ALiberal holdThe Aftermath editThe Mid Durham constituency was abolished and replaced by Spennymoor for the 1918 general election At that election Galbraith was again returned defeating Labour s Joseph Batey References edit Craig F W S 1987 Chronology of British Parliamentary By elections 1833 1987 Chichester Parliamentary Research Services p 110 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1915 Mid Durham by election amp oldid 1182114694, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
