- Bow and Bromley by-election, 1912
The Bow and Bromley by-election was a
by-election held on26 November 1912 for theBritish House of Commons constituency of Bow and Bromley. It was triggered when the Labour PartyMember of Parliament (MP),George Lansbury , accepted the post ofSteward of the Chiltern Hundreds as a technical measure enabling him to leave Parliament.Background
Bow and Bromley was a
marginal constituency . It had been held by the Liberal Party from 1906 until 1910 and by the Conservative Party from 1895 until 1906 and during 1910. At the general election of December 1910, Lansbury had gained the seat for Labour with a majority of 11.1%.Lansbury had become a strong supporter of
women's suffrage . Unusually among male politicians of the time, he supported the actions of militantsuffragette s such as theWomen's Social and Political Union (WSPU).John Shepherd, " [http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/lab/87/shepherd.html A Life on the Left : George Lansbury (1859—1940) : a Case Study in Recent Labour Biography] "] While support for women's suffrage was official Labour policy, Lansbury felt that this support was lukewarm, and so in October 1912 he travelled toBoulogne-sur-Mer withEmmeline Pankhurst , where he met WSPU leaderChristabel Pankhurst .George Dangerfield, "The Strange Death of Liberal England "]Campaign
Lansbury decided to resign his seat and contest the resulting by-election on a platform of "Votes for Women". He was unable to gain official Labour Party support, and instead ran as the "Women's Suffrage and Socialist" candidate. [John Shepherd, "George Lansbury: At the Heart of Old Labour"] He was supported by his
Constituency Labour Party (CLP), includingJ. H. Banks andEdgar Lansbury , by some prominent Labour figures includingKeir Hardie andPhilip Snowden , by Liberal Party MP Josiah Wedgwood and by journalistH. N. Brailsford .Millicent Fawcett , leader of the WSPU's rival theNational Union of Women's Suffrage Societies also campaigned for Lansbury.The WSPU were very active in supporting Lansbury in the by-election, but some tensions arose between them and the CLP. The WSPU were adamant that their campaign would not be controlled by a male-led organisation, while the local activists regarded them as outsiders. This in particular created problems on polling day, when WSPU cars were not made available to carry people to vote.
Sylvia Pankhurst 's branch of the WSPU was on the same road as Lansbury's campaign headquarters. She supported his campaign, but was critical of him for standing prematurely, against counsel from thelabour movement , and for prioritising women's suffrage above all other issues.Mary Davis, "Sylvia Pankhurst: A Life in Radical Politics"] Lansbury's manifesto did include other measures, including opposition to theNational Insurance Bill and an explanation of his differences with the Labour leadership.The campaign was widely covered by the official Labour newspaper the "
Daily Citizen " and strongly supported by Lansbury's own recently launched paper the "Daily Herald ".The Liberal Party's leadership was opposed to women's suffrage, and opposed the militant activities of the WSPU by imprisoning its members. When some suffragettes went on
hunger strike , it authorisedforce feeding . Lansbury strongly disagreed with this, and in Parliament in the summer of 1912, he toldH. H. Asquith , the Liberal Prime Minister "You will go down in history as the man who tortured innocent women. You ought to be driven from public life." [Roger Fulford, "Votes for Women" (p. 274)] Despite this, the Liberals did not stand a candidate in the by-election. The Labour Party also declined to stand an official candidate, so Lansbury's only opponent wasReginald Blair of the Conservative Party. Blair was supported by thePrimrose League and theNational League for Opposing Woman Suffrage and campaigned under slogans including "Women Do Not Want Votes".Result
Blair took the seat from Lansbury with a majority of over 700 votes. He held the seat until 1922, when Lansbury retook it. Lansbury meanwhile promoted socialism in the "Daily Herald" and led the
Poplar Rates Rebellion of 1921. The WSPU moved away from Lansbury and became increasingly anti-socialist, while this was a decisive point in Sylvia Pankhurst's split from her family towardscommunism . The following year, her section of the WSPU became theEast London Federation of Suffragettes .Lansbury believed that his resignation had permanently alienated some of his constituents, and subsequently declared "Never Resign!"
Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate =Reginald Blair
votes = 4,042
percentage = 55.1
change = +10.7Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent Labour
candidate =George Lansbury
votes = 3,291
percentage = 44.9
change = –10.7Election box majority
votes = 751
percentage = 10.2
change = Election box turnout
votes = 7,333
percentage =
change = Election box gain with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
loser = Labour Party (UK)
swing =Election box begin
title=General Election December 1910: Bow and BromleyElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate =George Lansbury
votes = 4,315
percentage = 55.6
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate =Leo Amery
votes = 3,452
percentage = 44.4
change = Election box majority
votes = 863
percentage = 11.1
change = Election box turnout
votes = 7,767
percentage =
change = Election box gain with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
loser = Conservative Party (UK)
swing =References
ee also
*
Bow and Bromley by-election, 1940
*UK by-election records
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