1913 Kendal by-election

The Kendal 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.

Vacancy

Josceline Bagot was twice returned as Conservative MP for Kendal (1892–1906 and 1910–1913), He died on 1 March 1913.

Previous result

General Election December 1910: Kendal Electorate 6,546

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Josceline Fitzroy Bagot	3,041
	Liberal	William Henry Somervell	2,733
Majority
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

Candidates

John Weston was selected by the Unionists to defend the seat. The Liberals chose local man William Somervell who had stood here last time.

Result

By-Election 18 March 1913: Kendal Electorate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Unionist	John Wakefield Weston	3,261
	Liberal	William Henry Somervell	2,680
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Somervell explained his defeat, and the doubling of the Unionist majority, by claiming that Weston (who stood as an Independent Unionist) had been elected because he was a ‘semi-Liberal’ and a popular local man.

Aftermath

A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.

General Election 1914/15: Kendal Electorate 6,696

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	John Wakefield Weston
	Liberal

Following boundary changes, Kendal was merged into the new Westmorland seat for the 1918 elections.

General Election 14 December 1918: Westmorland Electorate 30,516

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	John Wakefield Weston	unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Unionist hold		Swing

• Weston was the endorsed candidate of the Coalition Government.

References

• Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
• Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
• Debrett's House of Commons 1916