1904 East Dorset by-election
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The East Dorset by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It 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[]
Hon. Humphrey Sturt had been Conservative MP for the seat of East Dorset since the 1891 By-Election. His succession to the peerage as Baron Alington came on 17 February 1904.
Electoral history[]
The seat had been Conservative since they gained it in 1886. They held the seat at the last election:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Humphrey Sturt | 4,776 | 50.5 | ||
Liberal | Arthur Acland Allen | 4,680 | 49.5 | ||
Majority | 96 | 1.0 | |||
Turnout | 9,456 | 81.4 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Candidates[]
The local Conservative Association selected 47-year-old Charles Van Raalte as their candidate to defend the seat. He was Mayor of Poole in 1903.[2] Van Raalte was of Dutch descent and lived locally on Brownsea Island.[3]
The local Liberal Association selected 29-year-old Hon. Charles Lyell as their candidate to gain the seat. Lyell was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Forfar and Kincardine Artillery Militia in 1900.[4]
Campaign[]
Polling Day was fixed for 16 March 1904, 27 days after the previous MP went to the Lord's.
Result[]
The Liberals gained the seat from the Conservatives:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Charles Henry Lyell | 5,929 | 53.7 | +4.2 | |
Conservative | Charles E. Van Raalte | 5,109 | 46.3 | -4.2 | |
Majority | 820 | 7.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 11,038 | 87.0 | +5.6 | ||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.2 |
Aftermath[]
At the following General Election the result was:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Charles Henry Lyell | 6,104 | 50.1 | -3.6 | |
Conservative | Charles E. Van Raalte | 6,083 | 49.9 | +3.6 | |
Turnout | 89.9 | +2.9 | |||
Majority | 21 | 0.2 | 6.2 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | -3.6 |
References[]
- 1904 in England
- 1904 elections in the United Kingdom
- By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Dorset constituencies
- 20th century in Dorset