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The 1907 Jarrow by-election was held on 4 July 1907.
Vacancy
The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Liberal MP, Charles Palmer.
Electoral history
At the 1906 general election Palmer had had a straight fight with Labour;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Palmer | 8,047 | 61.2 | ||
| Labour Repr. Cmte. | Pete Curran | 5,093 | 38.8 | ||
| Majority | 2,954 | 22.4 | |||
| Turnout | 13,140 | 77.2 | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | ||||
Candidates
The sitting Liberal MP, the 84-year-old Sir Charles Palmer, had announced that he did not intend to stand for Parliament at the next election and the local Liberals had already selected Spencer Leigh Hughes as his replacement. Hughes’ opportunity to get into Parliament came quickly as Sir Charles died on 4 June 1907 thus causing a by-election at which Hughes was adopted as Liberal candidate. Hughes faced, Labour, Conservative and Irish Parliamentary Party opponents.
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Pete Curran | 4,698 | 33.0 | −5.8 | |
| Conservative | Patrick Rose-Innes | 3,930 | 27.6 | New | |
| Liberal | Spencer Leigh Hughes | 3,474 | 24.4 | −36.8 | |
| Irish Parliamentary | John O'Hanlon | 2,122 | 14.9 | New | |
| Majority | 768 | 5.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 14,224 | 82.7 | +5.5 | ||
| Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | ||||
Aftermath
For Curran, it was a short-lived triumph as he was unseated by another Liberal at the following General Election in January 1910. Rose-Innes did not stand for Parliament again. In 1909 Hughes was the unsuccessful Liberal candidate at the 1909 Bermondsey by-election. The Irish Nationalists never again ran a candidate in Jarrow.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Godfrey Mark Palmer | 4,885 | 34.0 | +9.4 | |
| Labour | Pete Curran | 4,818 | 33.5 | +0.4 | |
| Conservative | James Kirkley | 4,668 | 32.5 | +4.9 | |
| Majority | 67 | 0.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 14,371 | 78.6 | −4.1 | ||
| Liberal gain from Labour | Swing | +4.5 | |||
External links
Adrian Green; A. J. Pollard, eds. (2007). Regional Identities in North-East England, 1300-2000. Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-335-2.
References
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- The Times, 23 May 1907 p7
- Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results, 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 271. ISBN 0-333-16903-4.
- Times House of Commons, 1910; Politico's Publishing, 2004, p. 62