Barnsley by-election, 1897
Encyclopedia
The Barnsley by-election, 1897, was a by-election
held on 28 October 1897 for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. It was notable for its role in the development of the Independent Labour Party
.
had been created in 1885, and was a safe seat
for the Liberal Party
. Since a by-election in 1889, it had been held by the Earl Compton
. On 11 September 1897, Compton's father
died, and he succeeded as the Marquess of Northampton
, thereby forfeiting his seat in the House of Commons and necessitating a by-election. There were eleven candidates for the Liberal nomination, including William Pollard Byles
, William Sproston Caine
, A. E. Fletcher, George William Erskine Russell
and Charles Trevelyan
. Ultimately, the party nominated Joseph Walton
, a County Durham
-based owner of collieries and coal and coke merchants. He had stood in Doncaster
in 1895, but had narrowly lost the seat.
At each election since its creation, the seat had been contested by both the Liberal Party and an opponent from the Conservative Party
(or, on one occasion, from the Liberal Unionist Party
). The Conservative's best result had come at the 1895 UK general election, where Ronald Greville
had taken 40.6% of the vote. The following year, he had been elected for Bradford East
, so he was not available to contest the by-election. After a struggle to find a candidate, the party selected James Blyth, a London-based captain in the Oxfordshire Light Infantry and a friend of Wakefield
MP Lord Milton
. He had no political experience, and it was widely suspected that the party held no hope of capturing the seat.
The Independent Labour Party
(ILP) had been founded in 1893 as a socialist party, committed to securing MPs who were independent of the Liberal Party. The party stood 28 candidates at the 1895 general election, but did not win a single seat, and various by-election candidates had also performed poorly. They decided to stand Pete Curran, the national organiser of the National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers. He was a member of the Fabian Society
and of the Social Democratic Federation
, and had stood in Barrow in 1895, coming bottom of the poll.
movement, Walton courted the support of local miners, and the YMA quickly gave him its backing. Ben Pickard, General Secretary of the YMA, was a particularly strong supporter, and he claimed that Curran was in league with the Conservatives. Walton campaigned on much of the YMA's agenda, including an eight-hour working day for miners, the introduction of old age pensions and voting reform, although he opposed their campaign for nationalisation of the mines. He also admitted to sending coal to Yorkshire during the YMA strike of 1893, excusing this on the grounds that Yorkshire coal had been sent to County Durham during a strike up there.
Blyth opposed an eight-hour day, stating that it should not be a matter for parliamentary legislation. He hoped that the passage of the Workmen's Compensation Act
under the Conservative government would garner him support, but it led many colliery owners, otherwise strong Conservatives, to refuse to campaign for him.
Barnsley and District Trades and Labour Council, which did not include any miners' representatives, backed Curran. The ILP held a large number of meetings, bringing prominent speakers from around the country. They attracted large audiences, although they were strongly heckled and possibly attacked in Wombwell
. Their campaign focussed on attacking Walton's role as an employer, claiming he had victimised miners. However, the Liberals countered, claiming that Curran had deserted his wife and was either an Orangeman or a Roman Catholic.
and, ultimately, the Labour Party
.
Walton held the seat until he stood down in 1922. Blyth did not contest any further elections, but Curran was eventually elected at the Jarrow by-election, 1907.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 28 October 1897 for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. It was notable for its role in the development of the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
.
Background
The constituency of BarnsleyBarnsley (UK Parliament constituency)
Barnsley was a Parliamentary constituency covering the town of Barnsley in England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.-History:...
had been created in 1885, and was a safe seat
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
for the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
. Since a by-election in 1889, it had been held by the Earl Compton
William Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton
William George Spencer Scott Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton, KG , known as Lord William Compton from 1877 to 1887 and as Earl Compton from 1887 to 1897, was a British peer and Liberal politician....
. On 11 September 1897, Compton's father
William Compton, 4th Marquess of Northampton
Admiral William Compton, 4th Marquess of Northampton, KG , known as Lord William Compton from 1828 to 1877, was a British peer and naval commander....
died, and he succeeded as the Marquess of Northampton
Marquess of Northampton
Marquess of Northampton is a title that has been created twice.-William Parr:First creation, 1547–1571The title was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1547 in favour of William Parr, brother of Catherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII. The title was forfeited...
, thereby forfeiting his seat in the House of Commons and necessitating a by-election. There were eleven candidates for the Liberal nomination, including William Pollard Byles
William Pollard Byles
Sir William Pollard Byles was a British newspaper owner and Liberal politician.Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, in 1839, W P Byles was the son of William Byles, proprietor of the Bradford Observer. He eventually succeeded his father as owner of the newspaper, which had been renamed the Yorkshire...
, William Sproston Caine
William Sproston Caine
William Sproston Caine was a British politician and Temperance advocate.Caine was born at Seacombe, Cheshire, and was the eldest surviving son of Nathaniel Caine, a metal merchant from Cheshire, and was educated at private schools in Egremont, Merseyside and Birkenhead before entering his father's...
, A. E. Fletcher, George William Erskine Russell
George William Erskine Russell
George William Erskine Russell PC , known as George W. E. Russell, was a British biographer, memoirist and Liberal politician.-Background and education:...
and Charles Trevelyan
Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet
Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet PC , the Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland, was a British Liberal, and later Labour, politician and landowner...
. Ultimately, the party nominated Joseph Walton
Sir Joseph Walton, 1st Baronet
Sir Joseph Walton, 1st Baronet DL, JP was an English coalowner and Liberal Party politician.-Family and education:...
, a County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
-based owner of collieries and coal and coke merchants. He had stood in Doncaster
Doncaster (UK Parliament constituency)
Doncaster was a Parliamentary constituency covering the town of Doncaster in England. The constituency was created in 1885 and abolished in 1983.- Boundaries :...
in 1895, but had narrowly lost the seat.
At each election since its creation, the seat had been contested by both the Liberal Party and an opponent from the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
(or, on one occasion, from the Liberal Unionist Party
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
). The Conservative's best result had come at the 1895 UK general election, where Ronald Greville
Ronald Greville
Hon. Ronald Henry Fulke Greville was an English Conservative Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for Bradford East from 1896 to 1906.-Early life:...
had taken 40.6% of the vote. The following year, he had been elected for Bradford East
Bradford East (UK Parliament constituency)
Bradford East is the name of a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency originally existed from 1885 to 1974 and was recreated for the 2010 general election, electing one Member of Parliament by the first past the post...
, so he was not available to contest the by-election. After a struggle to find a candidate, the party selected James Blyth, a London-based captain in the Oxfordshire Light Infantry and a friend of Wakefield
Wakefield (UK Parliament constituency)
Wakefield is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
MP Lord Milton
William Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 7th Earl FitzWilliam
William Charles de Meuron Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 7th Earl FitzWilliam was a British aristocrat. He was born in Pointe de Meuron, Canada and died at the family's seat...
. He had no political experience, and it was widely suspected that the party held no hope of capturing the seat.
The Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
(ILP) had been founded in 1893 as a socialist party, committed to securing MPs who were independent of the Liberal Party. The party stood 28 candidates at the 1895 general election, but did not win a single seat, and various by-election candidates had also performed poorly. They decided to stand Pete Curran, the national organiser of the National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers. He was a member of the Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
and of the Social Democratic Federation
Social Democratic Federation
The Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...
, and had stood in Barrow in 1895, coming bottom of the poll.
Campaign
By far the largest employer in the area was the coal industry, and Barnsley was a stronghold of the Yorkshire Miners Association (YMA). Although he was not part of the Lib-LabLiberal-Labour (UK)
The Liberal–Labour movement refers to the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions...
movement, Walton courted the support of local miners, and the YMA quickly gave him its backing. Ben Pickard, General Secretary of the YMA, was a particularly strong supporter, and he claimed that Curran was in league with the Conservatives. Walton campaigned on much of the YMA's agenda, including an eight-hour working day for miners, the introduction of old age pensions and voting reform, although he opposed their campaign for nationalisation of the mines. He also admitted to sending coal to Yorkshire during the YMA strike of 1893, excusing this on the grounds that Yorkshire coal had been sent to County Durham during a strike up there.
Blyth opposed an eight-hour day, stating that it should not be a matter for parliamentary legislation. He hoped that the passage of the Workmen's Compensation Act
Workmen's Compensation Act 1897
The Workmen's Compensation Act 1897 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which dealt with the right of workers for compensation for personal injury. It replaced the 1880 Employer's Liability Act, which required the injured worker the right to sue the employer and put the burden of...
under the Conservative government would garner him support, but it led many colliery owners, otherwise strong Conservatives, to refuse to campaign for him.
Barnsley and District Trades and Labour Council, which did not include any miners' representatives, backed Curran. The ILP held a large number of meetings, bringing prominent speakers from around the country. They attracted large audiences, although they were strongly heckled and possibly attacked in Wombwell
Wombwell
Wombwell is a small town near Barnsley, located in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 15,180.Its name's origin may mean "Womba's Well", or "well in a hollow"....
. Their campaign focussed on attacking Walton's role as an employer, claiming he had victimised miners. However, the Liberals countered, claiming that Curran had deserted his wife and was either an Orangeman or a Roman Catholic.
Result
Walton held the seat comfortably, receiving a slight increase in his share of the vote. Their triumph was largely put down to the work of Pickard, and some liberal newspapers used the share as evidence that the ILP vote was coming from former Conservative supporters, not from Liberals. The ILP was disappointed by their weak showing, taking only 9.7% of the vote. The organisation was put in debt by paying its share of the election expenses, and as a result was not able to contest any further by-elections until 1900. However, it did manage to recruit some more members in the district. Ultimately, the defeat led to a re-evaluation of its approach, and to adopt instead a short-term policy of uniting all trade unions, socialist or not, into one political party. This vision led to the formation of the Labour Representation CommitteeLabour Representation Committee
Labour Representation Committee may refer to:* Labour Representation Committee, the original name of the British Labour Party* Labour Representation Committee , a 21st century pressure group within the British Labour Party...
and, ultimately, the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Walton held the seat until he stood down in 1922. Blyth did not contest any further elections, but Curran was eventually elected at the Jarrow by-election, 1907.