1906 Bodmin by-election

1906 Bodmin by-election
← 1906 24 July 1906 Jan. 1910 →
 
Candidate Freeman-Thomas Sandys
Party Liberal Liberal Unionist
Popular vote 4,969 3,876
Percentage 56.2% 43.8%
MP before election

Thomas Agar-Robartes
Liberal

Subsequent MP

Freeman-Thomas
Liberal

The 1906 Bodmin by-election was a by-election held on 24 July 1906 for the British House of Commons constituency of Bodmin in Cornwall.

Vacancy

The by-election was triggered by the unseating of the town's Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Thomas Agar-Robartes, as a result of an election petition alleging illegal payments to potential voters. The success of the petition was controversial, as the presiding Judge, Justice Grantham, himself a former Conservative MP, was already facing criticism for a decision on an election petition in the Great Yarmouth constituency which had been considered unduly favourable to the Conservatives. A censure motion was outstanding in Parliament at the time of the decision, but the Government decided not to proceed with it. Five years later, he was censured in Parliament by the then Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, as a consequence of some comments to a jury in a case in Liverpool.[1]

Candidates

The Liberal candidate was Freeman Freeman-Thomas, who had lost his Hastings seat in the recent general election. The Liberal Unionist was George Sandys.

Campaign

The brother of the unseated member toured the constituency, urging voters to avenge the result of the petition by voting Liberal. The Unionists alleged that the Government was planning to make up to 20,000 soldiers unemployed, a claim rejected by the Secretary of War, Richard Haldane.[2]

Result

The Liberal candidate won with a slightly reduced majority (down from 1,172 to 1,093) on a somewhat smaller turnout than at the general election.[3]

Bodmin by-election, 1906
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Freeman Freeman-Thomas 4,969 56.2 -0.1
Liberal Unionist George Sandys 3,876 43.8 +0.1
Majority 1,093 12.4 -0.2
Turnout 8,845
Liberal hold Swing -0.1

Aftermath

Sandys went on to become Conservative MP for Wells from 1910 to 1918, and his son Duncan Sandys later became an MP and cabinet minister.

See also

  • flagCornwall portal

References

  1. ^ J. B. Atlay, ‘Grantham, Sir William (1835–1911)’, rev. Robert Stevens, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
  2. ^ The Times, 25 July 1906.
  3. ^ The Times, 26 July 1906
  • The Times, July 1906
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
  • v
  • t
  • e
« 27th Parliament « By-elections to the 28th Parliament of the United Kingdom » 29th Parliament »
1906190719081909
Lists of UK by-elections
1801–1806
1806–1818
1818–1832
1832–1847
1847–1857
1857–1868
1868–1885
1885–1900
1900–1918
1918–1931
1931–1950
1950–1979
1979–2010
2010–present
Northern Ireland
Hereditary peers