The 1912 Taunton by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Taunton in Somerset on 11 November 1912. Taunton returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
Vacancy
William Peel had been Unionist MP for Taunton since 1909. He inherited his father's viscountcy in 1912, and moved to the House of Lords.
Previous result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William Peel | 1,806 | 53.4 | -1.9 | |
| Liberal | John Edward Schunk | 1,573 | 46.6 | +1.9 | |
| Majority | 233 | 6.8 | -3.8 | ||
| Turnout | 3,379 | 88.6 | -1.7 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -1.9 | |||
Result
Wills held the seat for the Unionist Party.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Gilbert Wills | 1,882 | 54.1 | +0.7 | |
| Liberal | John Edward Schunk | 1,597 | 45.9 | -0.7 | |
| Majority | 285 | 8.2 | +1.4 | ||
| Turnout | 3,479 | 88.7 | +0.1 | ||
| Unionist hold | Swing | +0.7 | |||
Aftermath
A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Gilbert Wills | ||||
| Liberal | |||||
In 1918, Wills switched to contest the neighbouring seat of Weston super mare.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | *Dennis Boles | 12,619 | 72.4 | +19.0 | |
| Labour | George Woods | 4,816 | 27.6 | New | |
| Majority | 7,803 | 44.8 | +38.0 | ||
| Turnout | 17,435 | 60.4 | -28.2 | ||
| Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |||
- Boles was the endorsed candidate of the Coalition Government.
References
- Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
- Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
- Debrett's House of Commons 1916