1903 Woolwich by-election
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Woolwich constituency | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 16,136 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 87.7% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
Background
The 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]
Campaign
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.[3] Local liberal organisations and papers supported Crooks's campaign.[4][5]
Crooks was a moderate, and the mayor of Poplar. During the by-election, he focused on basic economic issues like unemployment, housing and wages.[5]
Result
| 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
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Charles Beresford | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 15,376 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Legacy and aftermath
Crooks became the fourth Labour MP in the party's history. His by-election victory exceeded expectations at the time,[7] with the then Speaker of the House describing it as the most spectacular by-election victory of modern times.[8]
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.[9]
Notes
- ^ The previous election saw the MP elected unopposed, so no vote was held and no comparisons can be made.
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Poirier, Philip P. (1958). The Advent of the British Labour Party. Columbia University Press. pp. 168–169.
- ^ a b Craig, FWS, 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.