1904 Sowerby by-election

1904 Sowerby by-election

2 July 1904

Candidate Higham Simpson Party Liberal Conservative Popular vote 6,049 3,877 Percentage 60.9% 39.1%

MP before election John William Mellor Liberal Subsequent MP John Higham Liberal

The 1904 Sowerby by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 2 July 1904. The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Vacancy

John William Mellor had been Liberal MP for the seat of Sowerby since the 1892 General Election. Aged 69, he chose to retire from parliament.

Electoral history

The seat had been Liberal since creation in 1885. They easily held the seat at the last election, with a reduced majority:

Mellor

General election 1900: Sowerby

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John William Mellor	5,528	57.6	−1.1
	Conservative	John Bailey	4,067	42.4	+1.1
Majority			1,461	15.2	−2.2
Turnout			9,595	80.0	+2.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	-1.1

Candidates

The local Liberal Association selected 47 year-old Accrington businessman, John Sharp Higham as their candidate to defend the seat. He was Mayor of Accrington from 1899–1901. The local Conservative Association selected 24 year-old William Simpson-Hinchliffe as their candidate.

Result

The Liberals held the seat from the Conservatives:

Sowerby by-election, 1904

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Sharp Higham	6,049	60.9	+3.3
	Conservative	William Simpson-Hinchliffe	3,877	39.1	−3.3
Majority			2,172	21.8	+6.6
Turnout			9,926	80.6	+0.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.3

Aftermath

At the following General Election the result was:

General election 1906: Sowerby

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Sharp Higham	6,482	61.6	+0.7
	Conservative	William Simpson-Hinchliffe	4,034	38.4	−0.7
Majority			2,448	23.2	+1.4
Turnout			10,516	84.2	+3.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.7