Clitheroe by-election, 1902

The 1902 Clitheroe by-election was held on 20 August 1902 after the incumbent Liberal MP Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth was elevated to the House of Lords. Labour Representation Committee candidate David Shackleton won unopposed.

Background

The incumbent Liberal MP Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth were among the new peers in the 1902 Coronation Honours announced on 26 June 1902. He was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Shuttleworth the following month,^[1] and thus had to resign his seat in the House of Commons.

Candidates

The barrister Augustine Birrell was mentioned as a possible candidate for the Liberal party, but withdrew early as he found the constituency too far from London to be able to give it adequate time.^[2] Philip Stanhope, a former liberal MP for Wednesbury and for Burnley was adopted as a candidate in early July,^[3] and considered running, but stated in an interview that he wanted an alliance between the liberals and labour.^[4]

The Conservatives considered several candidates, including Colonel John William Robinson Parker, of Browsholme Hall, who had just returned from the Second Boer War in South Africa.^[2]

David Shackleton was the general secretary of the Textile Factory Workers Association. Although the textile workers had not yet joined the Labour Representation Committee, Shackleton was appointed its candidate for the by-election. Philip Snowden, who had been considered by the Independent Labour Party, withdrew from the race. The Liberals and Conservatives also withdrew, sensing Shackleton's strong lead.

Results

The seat was gained by the unopposed Shackleton,^[5] who became the third MP for the Labour Representation Committee (which would later become the Labour Party) and the first to win at a by-election. The textile workers' unions affiliated to the Labour Representative Committee shortly afterwards. Shackleton served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party for a period.

References