Sheffield Attercliffe by-election, 1894
Encyclopedia
A by-election
was held for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Sheffield Attercliffe on 5 July 1894. It was the first parliamentary election contested by the Independent Labour Party
.
Member of Parliament for the seat since its creation for the 1885 UK general election. He had been re-elected at the 1886 and 1892 UK general elections, but the Conservative Party
had taken more than 40% of the vote on each occasion. G. Hill Smith stood for the Conservatives in 1892, receiving 43.1% of the vote, and reducing Coleridge to his smallest majority to date.
The seat of Attercliffe had a large working class
population, many working in trades which were well unionised: ironworking, toolmaking and coal mining. Local labour movement leaders believed that the new representative for the seat should be a worker.
Several possible Liberal candidates were discussed, including Robert Hadfield
, Joshua Rowntree
and C. P. Scott
, but two names came to the fore: J. Batty Langley
and Charles Hobson. Hobson, the leader of the Sheffield Federated Trades Council, was a President of the Labour Electoral Association and would have stood as a Liberal-Labour
candidate. Local Liberal leaders hoped that, if he were selected, it would discourage more radical labour movement activists from standing their own candidate. Langley ran a large saw mill in the city, and was an alderman on Sheffield Town Council
. He had served as Mayor of Sheffield
in 1892–93, when he took the initiative in resolving a major coal strike.
On 18 June, the trades council unanimously endorsed Hobson as a candidate. Several leading trade unionist wrote in support of this decision, including William Bailey of the Nottinghamshire Miners Association, William Edwin Harvey
of the Derbyshire Miners Association and Havelock Wilson of the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union. The Independent Labour Party (ILP), although only recently established, was strong in Sheffield, with four main branches and around 400 members, many formerly of the Social Democratic Federation
. As its central purpose was to campaign for independent labour representation, it strongly opposed Langley, but its representatives on the trade council decided to endorse Hobson.
Frederick Mappin, Liberal MP for nearby Hallamshire
spoke strongly against any working class candidate, holding that they would lose the seat. William Clegg
, leader of the Liberal group on the council, argued against selecting Hobson, because he believe that he would prove unable to raise the necessary money to stand. Henry Wilson
, MP for Holmfirth
, Secretary of the Sheffield Liberal Association, and John Wycliffe Wilson both favoured Hobson but, following Mappin and Clegg's comments, agreed to support Langley. On 22 June, an open meeting of the Liberal Council chose Langley by 160 votes to 2 for Hobson, and 2 for Robert Cameron
, who had stood for the party in 1892 in Sheffield Central.
The selection did not entirely settle the issue. At a meeting of the trades council on 23 June, Hobson announced that he would not oppose Langley, but the Daily Chronicle
still wrote of him as the "ideal candidate". The ILP responded by proposing one of their own members, Frank Smith
. He was narrowly endorsed by the trades council, although some liberal delegates refused to support the decision.
, Tom Mann
, Emmeline Pankhurst
and Ben Tillett
all campaigned for the ILP. Hobson spoke alongside Hardie at a meeting on 1 July, although he stated that he had some differences with the party and considered himself independent.
Langley was only given weak support by the National Liberal Federation
, who did not send any speakers. Ben Pickard, General Secretary of the Yorkshire Miners' Association
, sent a telegram supporting Langley. Philip Stanhope arranged a meeting between Frank Smith, Hardie and local Liberals, in the hope of persuading the ILP to withdraw, but Smith and Hardie complained that they had been tricked into attending, and left.
claimed that this was the Liberal's greatest victory since the 1892 general election, while Hardie claimed that the result would harden divisions between the Liberals and the labour movement. The Westminster Gazette
held that Langley had only won because he was able to take some votes from the Conservatives.
Immediately after the election, Ramsay Macdonald
wrote to Hardie, requesting membership of the ILP. In his letter, he noted that "...Attercliffe came as a rude awakening, and I felt during the contest that it was quite impossible for me to maintain my position as a Liberal any longer..."
The Liberal Party were soon reconciled with the majority of the trades council, and the first independent labour MP for Sheffield was not elected until Sheffield Brightside by-election, 1907. Langley held Sheffield Attercliffe until the 1909
. Frank Smith eventually became Labour Party
MP for Nuneaton
, but Hobson never stood for Parliament.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
was held for the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Sheffield Attercliffe on 5 July 1894. It was the first parliamentary election contested by 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 election was caused by the succession of Bernard Coleridge to the peerage. He had been the Liberal PartyLiberal 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...
Member of Parliament for the seat since its creation for the 1885 UK general election. He had been re-elected at the 1886 and 1892 UK general elections, but 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...
had taken more than 40% of the vote on each occasion. G. Hill Smith stood for the Conservatives in 1892, receiving 43.1% of the vote, and reducing Coleridge to his smallest majority to date.
The seat of Attercliffe had a large working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
population, many working in trades which were well unionised: ironworking, toolmaking and coal mining. Local labour movement leaders believed that the new representative for the seat should be a worker.
Candidates
The Conservative Party re-selected their candidate from 1892, G. Hill Smith.Several possible Liberal candidates were discussed, including Robert Hadfield
Robert Hadfield
Sir Robert Abbott Hadfield, 1st Baronet FRS was an English metallurgist, noted for his 1882 discovery of manganese steel, one of the first steel alloys...
, Joshua Rowntree
Joshua Rowntree
Joshua Rowntree was elected Member of Parliament for Scarborough in 1886 and served, as a Gladstonian Liberal, until 1892, when he was succeeded by the Conservative, Sir George Reresby Sitwell, whom he had defeated in 1886.He was an active Quaker...
and C. P. Scott
C. P. Scott
Charles Prestwich Scott was a British journalist, publisher and politician. Born in Bath, Somerset, he was the editor of the Manchester Guardian from 1872 until 1929 and its owner from 1907 until his death...
, but two names came to the fore: J. Batty Langley
J. Batty Langley
J. Batty Langley was a British Liberal Party politician.Born in Uppingham, Langley became a wealthy timber merchant in Sheffield, and one of the city's most prominent non-conformists. He was elected to Sheffield Town Council, serving many years and becoming an alderman.In 1892, Langley became...
and Charles Hobson. Hobson, the leader of the Sheffield Federated Trades Council, was a President of the Labour Electoral Association and would have stood as a Liberal-Labour
Liberal-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...
candidate. Local Liberal leaders hoped that, if he were selected, it would discourage more radical labour movement activists from standing their own candidate. Langley ran a large saw mill in the city, and was an alderman on Sheffield Town Council
Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors...
. He had served as Mayor of Sheffield
Lord Mayor of Sheffield
The Lord Mayor of Sheffield is a ceremonial post held by a member of Sheffield City Council. They are elected annually by the council. The post originated in 1843, with the appointment of William Jeffcock as the first Mayor of Sheffield...
in 1892–93, when he took the initiative in resolving a major coal strike.
On 18 June, the trades council unanimously endorsed Hobson as a candidate. Several leading trade unionist wrote in support of this decision, including William Bailey of the Nottinghamshire Miners Association, William Edwin Harvey
William Edwin Harvey
William Edwin Harvey , known as W. E. Harvey, was a British Lib-Lab Member of Parliament.Born in Hasland, Derbyshire, Harvey worked in a coal mine from the age of ten. He joined the South Yorkshire Miners' Association in 1869, and was a the union's local delegate by 1872...
of the Derbyshire Miners Association and Havelock Wilson of the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union. The Independent Labour Party (ILP), although only recently established, was strong in Sheffield, with four main branches and around 400 members, many formerly 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...
. As its central purpose was to campaign for independent labour representation, it strongly opposed Langley, but its representatives on the trade council decided to endorse Hobson.
Frederick Mappin, Liberal MP for nearby Hallamshire
Hallamshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Hallamshire was a Parliamentary constituency covering the Hallamshire district of England. The constituency was created in 1885 and abolished in 1918. It should not be confused with Sheffield Hallam...
spoke strongly against any working class candidate, holding that they would lose the seat. William Clegg
William Clegg
-External links:****...
, leader of the Liberal group on the council, argued against selecting Hobson, because he believe that he would prove unable to raise the necessary money to stand. Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson (British politician)
Henry Joseph Wilson was a British farmer, industrialist and Liberal Party politician.-Family and education:Henry Joseph Wilson was born at Old Radford, Nottinghamshire, the son of William Wilson who had also lived at Torquay and Mansfield. The Wilson family held strong Nonconformist and Reform...
, MP for Holmfirth
Holmfirth (UK Parliament constituency)
Holmfirth was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Holmfirth in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, MP elected by the first past the post system....
, Secretary of the Sheffield Liberal Association, and John Wycliffe Wilson both favoured Hobson but, following Mappin and Clegg's comments, agreed to support Langley. On 22 June, an open meeting of the Liberal Council chose Langley by 160 votes to 2 for Hobson, and 2 for Robert Cameron
Robert Cameron (UK politician)
Robert Cameron was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom.At the 1895 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Houghton-le-Spring in County Durham, and held the seat until he died in office in 1913, aged 87.- External links :...
, who had stood for the party in 1892 in Sheffield Central.
The selection did not entirely settle the issue. At a meeting of the trades council on 23 June, Hobson announced that he would not oppose Langley, but the Daily Chronicle
Daily Chronicle
The Daily Chronicle was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the Daily News to become the News Chronicle.-History:...
still wrote of him as the "ideal candidate". The ILP responded by proposing one of their own members, Frank Smith
Frank Smith (UK politician)
Francis Samuel Smith was a British newspaper editor and Christian socialist politician, who contested a large number of elections before finally winning a parliamentary seat in his mid-70s....
. He was narrowly endorsed by the trades council, although some liberal delegates refused to support the decision.
Campaign
Keir HardieKeir Hardie
James Keir Hardie, Sr. , was a Scottish socialist and labour leader, and was the first Independent Labour Member of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, Tom Mann
Tom Mann
Tom Mann was a noted British trade unionist. Largely self-educated, Mann became a successful organiser and a popular public speaker in the labour movement.-Early years:...
, Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement which helped women win the right to vote...
and Ben Tillett
Ben Tillett
Benjamin Tillett was a British socialist, trade union leader and politician. He was born in Bristol and began his working life as a sailor, before travelling to London and taking up work as a docker....
all campaigned for the ILP. Hobson spoke alongside Hardie at a meeting on 1 July, although he stated that he had some differences with the party and considered himself independent.
Langley was only given weak support by the National Liberal Federation
National Liberal Federation
The National Liberal Federation was the union of all English and Welsh Liberal Associations. It held an annual conference which was regarded as being representative of the opinion of the party’s rank and file and was broadly the equivalent of a present-day party conference.-Foundation:The...
, who did not send any speakers. Ben Pickard, General Secretary of the Yorkshire Miners' Association
Yorkshire Miners' Association
The Yorkshire Miners' Association was a British trade union.The union was founded in 1881 with the merger of the South Yorkshire Miners' Association, and the West Yorkshire Miners' Association, agreed only because both organisations were weakened by unsuccessful disputes...
, sent a telegram supporting Langley. Philip Stanhope arranged a meeting between Frank Smith, Hardie and local Liberals, in the hope of persuading the ILP to withdraw, but Smith and Hardie complained that they had been tricked into attending, and left.
Result
Langley held the seat for the Liberals, with their majority only slightly reduced. Both the Liberal and Conservative votes fell, but the ILP only took 13.5% of the votes cast. The Daily NewsDaily News
Daily News or The Daily News is the name of several daily newspapers around the world, including:- Australia :* Daily News - United Kingdom :...
claimed that this was the Liberal's greatest victory since the 1892 general election, while Hardie claimed that the result would harden divisions between the Liberals and the labour movement. The Westminster Gazette
Westminster Gazette
The Westminster Gazette was an influential Liberal newspaper based in London. It was known for publishing sketches and short stories, including early works by Raymond Chandler, Anthony Hope and Saki, and travel writing by Rupert Brooke. One of its editors was caricaturist and political cartoonist...
held that Langley had only won because he was able to take some votes from the Conservatives.
Immediately after the election, Ramsay Macdonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
wrote to Hardie, requesting membership of the ILP. In his letter, he noted that "...Attercliffe came as a rude awakening, and I felt during the contest that it was quite impossible for me to maintain my position as a Liberal any longer..."
The Liberal Party were soon reconciled with the majority of the trades council, and the first independent labour MP for Sheffield was not elected until Sheffield Brightside by-election, 1907. Langley held Sheffield Attercliffe until the 1909
Sheffield Attercliffe by-election, 1909
A by-election was held for the British House of Commons constituency of Sheffield Attercliffe on 4 May 1909.-Background:The election was caused by the resignation of J. Batty Langley, due to long-term ill health. He had been the Liberal Party Member of Parliament for the seat since an 1894...
. Frank Smith eventually became 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...
MP for Nuneaton
Nuneaton (UK Parliament constituency)
Nuneaton 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.- Pre-2010 :...
, but Hobson never stood for Parliament.