A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Woolwich was held on 11 March 1903. It was trigged by the resignation of incumbent MP, Charles Beresford. The by-election resulted in Will Crooks, the Labour Representation Committee candidate, beating his Conservative opponent.
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11 March 1903
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Woolwich constituency | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 16,136 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 87.7% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editThe constituency had a by-election in 1902 to replace the resignation of Edwin Hughes due to ill health. In this by-election, Charles Beresford was elected unopposed as the Conservative candidate. He subsequently resigned as MP in 1903 after accepting a position as commander of the Channel Fleet.[1][2]
Candidates and campaign
editThe Conservative candidate was selected at a meeting attended by Lord Charles Beresford on the day of his resignation. Several candidates were discussed, but the local conservative association accepted the offer of Geoffrey Drage to stand. He was a writer and commentator who had served as member of parliament for Derby from 1895 to 1900, when he lost that seat.[3]
The Labour Representation Committee came to an agreement with the Liberals for them to stand down in the by-election, making the race between solely their candidate, Will Crooks, and the Conservative.[4] Local liberal organisations and papers supported Crooks's campaign.[5][6]
Crooks was a moderate, and the mayor of Poplar. During the by-election, he focused on basic economic issues like unemployment, housing and wages.[6]
Result
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Repr. Cmte. | Will Crooks | 8,687 | 61.4 | New | |
| Conservative | Geoffrey Drage | 5,458 | 38.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,229 | 22.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 14,145 | 87.7 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 16,136 | ||||
| Labour Repr. Cmte. gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |||
Previous result
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Charles Beresford | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 15,376 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Legacy and aftermath
editCrooks became the fourth Labour MP in the party's history. His by-election victory exceeded expectations at the time,[8] with the then Speaker of the House describing it as the most spectacular by-election victory of modern times.[9]
Crooks held on to the seat in the subsequent 1906 general election, and remained an MP in Woolwich (later Woolwich East) until 1921, with a brief stint outside Parliament in 1910.[10]
Notes
edit- ↑ The previous election saw the MP elected unopposed, so no vote was held and no comparisons can be made.
References
edit- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 37058. London. 18 April 1903. p. 8.
- ↑ "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1880". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ↑ "Election intelligence". The Times. No. 37008. London. 19 February 1903. p. 5.
- ↑ Goddard, Pete; Hatwal, Atul. "Labour history uncut: Lib-Labbery and the 1906 election « Labour Uncut". Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ Purdue, A. W. (1976). "Arthur Henderson and Liberal, Liberal-Labour and Labour Politics in the North-East of England, 1892–1903". Northern History. 11 (1): 195–217. doi:10.1179/nhi.1976.11.1.195 – via Taylor & Francis.
- 1 2 Poirier, Philip P. (1958). The Advent of the British Labour Party. Columbia University Press. pp. 168–169.
- 1 2 Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
- ↑ Nick Raynsford in Haworth, Alan, and Hayter, Dianne (eds), Men Who Made Labour, Routledge (2006), p. 50.
- ↑ "CENTENARY OF THE ELECTION OF WILLS CROOKS MP - Early Day Motions - UK Parliament". edm.parliament.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ The Times House of Commons 1919. London: The Times Publishing Company (Limited). 1919. p. 23.