East Dorset by-election, 1910

The East Dorset by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. 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

Frederick Guest MP, circa 1910

Thirty-five-year-old Frederick Guest had been Liberal MP for the seat of East Dorset since the January 1910 General Election. In May 1910, his own election result was declared void, and he was unseated because of election irregularities by his constituency agent. This meant a by-election would take place and without Guest as a candidate.

Electoral history

The seat had been Liberal since they gained it in the East Dorset by-election, 1904. They narrowly held the seat at the last election, with a slightly increased majority;

General Election January 1910 Electorate 14,794^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Hon. Frederick Edward Guest	6,957	51.6	+1.5
	Conservative	J.S. Nicholson	6,531	48.4	-1.5
Majority			426	3.2	+3.0
Turnout				91.2	+1.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.5

Candidates

Henry Guest, circa 1910

The local Liberal Association selected 36-year-old Henry Guest, the older brother of Frederick Guest, to defend the seat. Like his brother, he had a military background, but unlike his brother, he had not before stood for parliament.^[2] The Conservatives retained J.S. Nicholson as their candidate.

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for 30 June 1910.

Result

In a remarkably high turnout, almost as high as the last General Election, the Liberals held the seat and managed a slightly increased majority;

East Dorset by-election, 1910 Electorate 14,794^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Hon. Christian Henry Charles Guest	6,967	52.2	+0.6
	Conservative	J.S. Nicholson	6,375	47.8	-0.6
Majority			592	4.4	+1.2
Turnout				90.2	-1.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.6

Aftermath

Henry Guest did not defend the seat at the December 1910 General Election and was instead elected for Pembroke and Haverfordwest. This allowed Frederick Guest to return first as Liberal candidate and then as the MP again;

General Election December 1910 Electorate 14,794^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Hon. Frederick Edward Guest	6,819	52.1	-0.1
	Conservative	Maurice George Carr Glyn	6,266	47.9	+0.1
Majority			553	4.2	-0.2
Turnout				88.4	-1.8
	Liberal hold		Swing

References

↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
↑ Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.

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1910	February: Swansea District March: Rotherham St George Barnstaple North East Cork Ilkeston Shipley Reading West Wicklow Mid Glamorgan April: Govan North Down Edinburgh South Crewe June: Dublin Harbour Lewes The Hartlepools East Dorset July: Liverpool Kirkdale October: South Shields November: Walthamstow

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