1902 Orkney and Shetland by-election

Orkney and Shetland is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. In the Scottish Parliament, Orkney and Shetland are separate constituencies.

1902 Orkney and Shetland by-election
18–19 November 1902
 
Candidate Cathcart Wason Thomas McKinnon Wood Theodore Angier
Party Independent Liberal Liberal Liberal Unionist
Popular vote 2,412 2,001 740
Percentage 46.8 38.8 14.4
MP before election

Cathcart Wason
Liberal Unionist

 Subsequent MP

Cathcart Wason
Liberal

The Orkney and Shetland by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Vacancy

Cathcart Wason had been Liberal Unionist MP for the seat of Orkney and Shetland since 1900. In July 1902, he decided to cross the floor of the House to sit with the Liberal opposition. Leaving the Liberal Unionist Party, he cited Government policy on the army, the Education Bill and the Irish land question.[1] He faced criticism from the Unionists in his constituency and following pressure, he resigned his seat on 7 October 1902 to contest the subsequent by-election.[2]

Electoral history

Since 1885, the seat had been always comfortably returned the Liberal Party candidate. Then the seat was surprisingly gained by Wason; albeit with a narrow majority of forty votes, standing as a Liberal Unionist in 1900.

General election January 1900[3][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Cathcart Wason 2,057 50.5 +10.4
Liberal Leonard Lyell 2,017 49.5 -10.4
Majority 40 1.0
Turnout 4,074 54.9 -1.0
Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal Swing

Candidates
Cathcart Wason in 1902 outside the Houses of Parliament
  • Fifty-four-year-old sitting MP Cathcart Wason chose to fight his seat again, standing as an Independent Liberal. He had hoped to stand as the official Liberal candidate, but the local Liberal Association chose not to back him.[5] Although born in Scotland he moved to New Zealand and had served as an Independent Member of Parliament there. He returned to the UK in 1900 in time for the general election to stand as a Liberal Unionist. His father, Rigby Wason had sat as a Whig MP and his older brother Eugene Wason was at the time a Liberal Party MP in Scotland.[6]
  • The local Liberal Unionist Association considered several candidates, including Captain John Nicholson, a native of Shetland who had contested Chester-le-Street as a Conservative at the 1900 general election.[7] They eventually selected 59-year-old Theodore Angier as their candidate to defend the seat. He had no connection with the islands and was a member of the Liberal Unionist Council. Angier had formerly been a sailor and owned the family steamship business, having volunteered for service in the South African War as well. He was standing for Parliament for the first time.[8]
  • In August 1902, the local Liberal Association had selected 47-year-old Thomas McKinnon Wood as their prospective candidate to re-gain the seat.[9] Although born in Stepney, his father was born in Orkney where he was a farmer. Wood was a member of the London County Council for Central Hackney from 1892 and from 1897 he was leader of the Progressive Party and also served as Chairman of the council from 1898-99. Wood stood unsuccessfully as a parliamentary candidate for East Islington in 1895 and Glasgow St. Rollox in 1900.[10]

Campaign

Polling Days were fixed for the 18–19 November 1902, over five weeks after Wason's resignation.

Result

Wason remarkably held his seat, with an increased majority of 411 votes.

Orkney and Shetland by-election, 1902[3][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Liberal Cathcart Wason 2,412 46.8 +46.8
Liberal Thomas McKinnon Wood 2,001 38.8 -10.7
Liberal Unionist Theodore Angier 740 14.4 -36.1
Majority 411 8.0
Turnout 5,153 68.1 +13.2
Independent Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist Swing

Immediately following his re-election, Wason re-took the Liberal Party whip in the House of Commons.

Aftermath

By the time of the 1906 general election, Wason had been fully integrated with the local Liberal Party and was re-elected as their official candidate;

General election January 1906[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Cathcart Wason 3,837 79.0 +29.5
Liberal Unionist C J Dunlop 1,021 21.0 -29.5
Majority 2,816 58.0
Turnout 4,858 63.3 +8.4
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist Swing

McKinnon Wood was elected Liberal MP for Glasgow St Rollox at the 1906 general election. Angier was knighted in 1904 and contested unsuccessfully, Gateshead at the 1906 general election.

References
  1. Aberdeen Journal, 30 Jul 1902
  2. "No. 27481". The London Gazette. 10 October 1902. p. 6409.
  3. The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 182 (206 in web page)
  4. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
  5. Aberdeen Journal, 18 Aug 1902
  6. ‘WASON, John Cathcart’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 28 Nov 2013
  7. "Election intelligence". The Times (36849). London. 18 August 1902. p. 4.
  8. ‘ANGIER, Sir Theodore Vivian Samuel’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 28 Nov 2013
  9. Aberdeen Journal, 18 Aug 1902
  10. ‘WOOD, Rt. Hon. Thomas McKinnon’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 28 Nov 2013
  11. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
  12. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
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