1904 Isle of Thanet by-election

The 1904 Isle of Thanet by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of the Isle of Thanet on 7 October 1904, following the death of Conservative Party MP James Lowther. It was successfully defended for the Conservative party by Harry Marks.

1904 Isle of Thanet by-election

7 October 1904

Candidate Marks King Party Conservative Liberal Popular vote 4,048 3,666 Percentage 52.5 47.5

MP before election James Lowther Conservative Subsequent MP Harry Marks Conservative

Vacancy

Conservative Party MP James Lowther Lowther died on 12 September 1904, triggering a by-election to fill the vacancy.[1]

Electoral history

The Isle of Thanet seat had been held by the Conservative party since its creation in 1885. In the 1900 general election Conservative candidate James Lowther was elected unopposed.

General election 1900: Isle of Thanet [2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Lowther	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Candidates

In anticipation of a forthcoming general election, the local Liberal association, about 6 months earlier, had selected 44 year old Joseph King as their candidate. He lived in Surrey, where he had previously been elected to the county council.[3]

Campaign

The usually Conservative supporting newspaper The Times, took a position in opposition to the Conservative candidate.[4]

Result

Isle of Thanet by-election, 1904 [5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Marks	4,048	52.5	N/A
	Liberal	Joseph King	3,666	47.5	New
Majority			382	5.0	N/A
Turnout			7,714	71.3	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing

Aftermath

Marks held the seat at the subsequent general election.

General election 1906: Isle of Thanet [6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Marks	5,154	51.3
	Liberal	Joseph King	3,961	39.5
	Ind. Conservative	Frederick E McCormick Goodhart	925	9.2	New
Majority			1,193	11.8	+6.8
Turnout			10,040	84.4	+13.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Marks would go on to represent the constituency until retiring in 1910.

References

1. Lucas, Reginald (2004). "Lowther, James (1840–1904)". In rev. H. C. G. Matthew (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
2. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918, FWS Craig
3. Black and White October 1, 1904
4. Black and White October 1, 1904
5. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918, FWS Craig
6. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918, FWS Craig