1904 East Dorset by-election

The East Dorset 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.

1904 East Dorset by-election
16 March 1904
 
Candidate Lyell Van Raalte
Party Liberal Conservative
Popular vote 6,104 6,083
Percentage 50.1 49.9
MP before election

Humphrey Sturt
Conservative

 Subsequent MP

Charles Henry Lyell
Liberal

Vacancy

Hon. Humphrey Sturt had been Conservative MP for the seat of East Dorset since the 1891 By-Election. His succession to the peerage as Baron Alington came on 17 February 1904.

Electoral history

The seat had been Conservative since they gained it in 1886. They held the seat at the last election:

General election January 1900[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Humphrey Sturt 4,776 50.5 n/a
Liberal Arthur Acland Allen 4,680 49.5 n/a
Turnout 81.4 n/a
Majority 96 1.0 n/a
Conservative hold Swing n/a

Candidates

The local Conservative Association selected 47-year-old Charles Van Raalte as their candidate to defend the seat. He was Mayor of Poole in 1903.[2] Van Raalte was of Dutch descent and lived locally on Brownsea Island.[3]

The local Liberal Association selected 29-year-old Hon. Charles Lyell as their candidate to gain the seat. Lyell was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Forfar and Kincardine Artillery Militia in 1900.[4]

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for 16 March 1904, 27 days after the previous MP went to the Lord's.

Result

The Liberals gained the seat from the Conservatives:

Lyell
East Dorset by-election, 1904[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Charles Henry Lyell 5,929 53.7 +4.2
Conservative Charles E. Van Raalte 5,109 46.3 -4.2
Turnout 87.0 +5.6
Majority 820 7.4 8.4
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +4.2

Aftermath

At the following General Election the result was:

General election January 1906[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Charles Henry Lyell 6,104 50.1 -3.6
Conservative Charles E. Van Raalte 6,083 49.9 +3.6
Turnout 89.9 +2.9
Majority 21 0.2 6.2
Liberal hold Swing -3.6
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References
  1. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
  2. Who Was Who
  3. http://primrose-league.leadhoster.com/brownsea/brownsea.html
  4. Who Was Who
  5. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
  6. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
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