1907 Colne Valley by-election

The Colne Valley 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.

1907 Colne Valley by-election
18 July 1907
 
Candidate Grayson Bright Wheler
Party Independent Labour Liberal Conservative
Popular vote 3,648 3,495 3,227
Percentage 35.2 33.7 31.1
MP before election

Sir James Kitson
Liberal

 Subsequent MP

Charles Leach
Liberal

Vacancy

Sir James Kitson had been Liberal MP for the seat of Colne Valley since the 1892 general election. He was created Baron Airedale on 17 July 1907 and resigned to take a seat in the House of Lords.

Electoral history

The seat was re-gained from the Liberal Unionists in 1892:

Kitson
General election January 1906[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal James Kitson Unopposed n/a n/a
Liberal hold Swing n/a

Candidates

The local Liberal Association selected Philip Bright to defend the seat. He was the son of John Bright the famous Free-trader. The Conservatives selected 35-year-old barrister, Granville Charles Hastings Wheler, later 1st (and last) Baronet of Otterden, as their candidate. He had contested Osgoldcross at the last general election.

Twenty-six-year-old Victor Grayson stood as an Independent Labour candidate, having been nominated by the Colne Valley Labour League. This was the local branch of the Independent Labour Party (ILP), but the ILP and Labour Party both decided against backing Grayson's candidacy.[2] Grayson was born in Liverpool and became an apprentice engineer. He joined the Independent Labour Party and toured the country giving lectures, becoming a well-known orator despite having a stammer.

Polling Day was fixed for 18 July 1907.

Result

Grayson gained the seat:

Grayson
Colne Valley by-election, 1907[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Colne Valley Labour Victor Grayson 3,648 35.2 n/a
Liberal Philip Bright 3,495 33.7 n/a
Conservative Granville Wheler 3,227 31.1 n/a
Majority 153 1.5 n/a
Turnout 10,370 88.1 n/a
Independent Labour gain from Liberal Swing n/a

Aftermath

Wheler was elected at Faversham at the next general election. Grayson was defeated by a new Liberal candidate:

Leach
General election January 1910[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Leach 4,741 40.7 +7.0
Conservative Archibald Boyd-Carpenter 3,750 32.2 +1.1
Colne Valley Labour Victor Grayson 3,149 27.1 -8.1
Majority 991 8.5 +7.0
Turnout 11,640 93.2 +5.1
Liberal gain from Independent Labour Swing +7.6

References
  1. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918, palgrave.com; accessed 5 May 2017.
  2. Clark, David (1981). Colne Valley: Radicalism to Socialism. London: Longman. ISBN 0582502934.
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