1906 Basingstoke by-election


The Basingstoke by-election of 1906 was held due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, Arthur Frederick Jeffreys and was won by the Conservative candidate Arthur Salter.
The Basingstoke division of Hampshire, returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Vacancy

Arthur Jeffreys had been Conservative MP for the seat since the 1887 Basingstoke by-election. He died on 14 February 1906 at the age of 57, just days after being re-elected at the 1906 general election.

Electoral history

The seat had been Conservative since it was created in 1885. They held the seat at the last election by a very small majority;

Candidates

The Conservatives chose barrister Arthur Salter KC as their candidate. The local Liberal Association re-selected 24 year-old Harry Verney who had been their unsuccessful candidate at the general election. A third candidate, Ernest Polden, came forward. He described himself as an Independent Liberal.

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for the 12 March 1906.

Result

The Conservatives held the seat with a slightly increased majority. The intervention of the Independent Liberal candidate proved to be crucial as he took enough votes away from the Liberal candidate to enable the Conservative to hang on.

Aftermath

Four years later, at the general election, Salter comfortably held the seat for the Conservatives against a new Liberal challenger.
Verney switched to contest Buckingham where he was elected in December 1910.