1701 Taunton by-election

The Taunton by-election of 1701 to the Parliament of England was held on 17 March 1701 in Taunton, Somerset, following the decision of the incumbent, Henry Portman, to sit in Wells. The by-election was contested by one of Portman's friends, Sir Francis Warre, 1st Baronet, and Thomas Baker, a Taunton merchant. Warre, a Tory, was elected, although Baker petitioned the result, claiming the Mayor was corrupt.

1701 Taunton by-election
17 March 1701 (1701-03-17)
 
Candidate Sir Francis Warre, Bt Thomas Baker
Party Tory Whig
Popular vote 297 256
MP before election

Henry Portman
Tory

 Subsequent MP

Sir Francis Warre, Bt
Tory

Background

In the general election held in January and February 1701, Taunton returned both of its standing Members of Parliament, Henry Portman, a Tory, and Edward Clarke, a Whig. Portman had also stood, and been elected in the constituency of Wells. He chose to represent Wells, triggering a by-election in Taunton. In his history of Taunton, William Gibson suggests that he may have made the decision based upon Wells being a "less furiously divided town for a Tory."[1]

Seymour suggested that his friend, Sir Francis Warre, 1st Baronet stand as the Tory candidate.[2] Warre was one of the largest land-owners in Somerset, and had previously represented Bridgwater since 1685.[3] He had been granted a baronetcy as a child, due to his father's support of the Royalists. Gibson claimed that he probably stood in Taunton in order to "bolster the Tory interest in his home town."[1] The Whig candidate, Thomas Baker was a prominent merchant in Taunton.[1]

Result

The vote was held on Thursday 17 March 1701, and was won narrowly by Warre, who collected 297 votes. Baker, who had 256 votes, contested the election, accusing the Mayor of corruption.[4] He claimed that the Mayor had not counted votes from qualified voters for himself, and also allowed illegal votes to be counted for Warre. The Mayor then ruled that the election would not be scrutinised, further angering Baker.[4] A petition was put together by 63 of those whose votes had not been allowed for Baker, but it was never presented, and the matter was never heard in the House of Commons.[4]

By-Election: Taunton[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Tory Sir Francis Warre, 1st Baronet 297
Whig Thomas Baker 256
Majority 41

Aftermath

Warre was returned in each of the following five elections,[6] but in 1715, after being elected along with Portman, they were removed on petition. Claims of partiality on the part of the Mayor, acting as returning officer, in counting unqualified votes for the pair were upheld, and they were replaced by the Whig candidates that had stood against them.[7]

References
  1. Gibson, William (2007). Religion and the Enlightenment, 1600–1800: Conflict and the Rise of Civic Humanism in Taunton. Peter Lang AG. p. 174. ISBN 978-3-03910-922-7.
  2. "SEYMOUR (afterwards PORTMAN), Henry". The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  3. "WARRE, Sir Francis, 1st Bt". The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  4. "Taunton: 1690–1715". The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  5. "The Borough Election". The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  6. Toulmin, Joshua (1791). The History of the Town of Taunton in the County of Somerset. T. Norris. pp. 69–70.
  7. "Taunton: 1715–1754". The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
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