1907 Rutlandshire by-election

The Rutlandshire by-election of 1907 was held on 11 June 1907. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, George Henry Finch. He had held the seat since 1867 and was Father of the House. The by-election was won by the Conservative candidate John Gretton[1] who held the seat until 1918 when the constituency was abolished.

The Women's Social and Political Union suffragettes campaigned against the government. At an open-air meeting in Uppingham, Mary Gawthorpe and Christabel Pankhurst were pelted and Gawthorpe fell unconscious; Sylvia Pankhurst wrote that the "incident and her plucky spirit, made her the heroine of the Election".[2]

Rutlandshire by-election, 1907

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Gretton	2,213	61.9
	Liberal	W. F. H. Lyon	1,362	38.1
Majority			851	23.8
Turnout			3,575
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. http://www.leighrayment.com/commons.htm
2. Pankhurst, Sylvia E. The Suffragette: The History of Women's Militant Suffrage. p. 22.