The 1916 Liverpool East Toxteth by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in England on 21 February 1916 for the House of Commons constituency of Liverpool East Toxteth.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the appointment of the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), Edward Marshall Hall as the Recorder of Guildford.[1] The Recorder's role as a part-time judge disqualified him from sitting in Parliament, and his acceptance of the post automatically caused a vacancy, and Hall accepted the appointment after checking with the Liverpool Conservatives that a by-election would not be problematic for them.[2]

The writ of election for the by-election was moved in the Commons on 10 February by William Bridgeman, the MP for Oswestry.[3]

Candidates

The Conservatives had already selected Captain James Stuart Rankin as their prospective candidate for the next general election.[2]

The 36-year-old Rankin,[4] who was then serving in Liverpool with the Royal Field Artillery, was formally adopted on 14 February as the Conservative candidate for the by-election.[5] During World War I, the major political parties had agreed not to contest by-elections when seats held by their respective parties fell vacant, and the Toxteth Liberals accepted Rankin's nomination.[5] They did not nominate a candidate of their own.[5]

Since Rankin was the only candidate, he was returned unopposed.[6][7]

Aftermath

At the next general election, in 1918, Rankin was re-elected unopposed as a Coalition Conservative. He held the seat until he stood down at the 1924 general election,[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ "No. 29463". The London Gazette. 4 February 1916. p. 1359.
  2. 1 2 "News In Brief. Mr Marshall Hall and East Toxteth". The Times. 24 January 1916. p. 3. Retrieved 8 September 2012.(subscription required)
  3. ↑ "NEW WRITS". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 16 February 1916. col. 59.
  4. ↑ "Obituaries". The Times. 22 October 1960. p. 8. Retrieved 8 September 2012.(subscription required)
  5. 1 2 3 "News in Brief. Soldier candidate for Liverpool". The Times. 15 February 1916. p. 5. Retrieved 8 September 2012.(subscription required)
  6. ↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1989]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 139. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  7. ↑ "No. 29483". The London Gazette. 22 February 1916. p. 1946.
  8. ↑ "The Election. List of withdrawals". The Times. 16 October 1924. p. 14. Retrieved 8 September 2012.(subscription required)
  9. ↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 173. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

See also

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