1900 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election

← 1896

3 May 1900

1900 →


Candidate	Sir John Batty Tuke
Party	Conservative

MP before election

Priestley
Conservative

Subsequent MP

Tuke
Conservative

The 1900 Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in Scotland on 3 May 1900 for the House of Commons constituency of Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities.^[1]

As a university constituency, the constituency had no geographical basis. Instead, its electorate consisted of the graduates of Edinburgh University and St Andrews University.

Vacancy

The by-election was held to fill the vacancy caused by the death on 11 April 1900 of 70-year-old Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) Sir William Overend Priestley.^[2] An eminent obstetrician, Priestley had held the seat since a by-election in May 1896.^[3]

Candidates

The Conservative Party selected as its candidate the 65-year-old Sir John Batty Tuke. He was a Yorkshire-born, Edinburgh-educated, pioneering psychiatrist based at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, who had been knighted in 1898.^[4]

Nomination day was set as Thursday 3 May,^[5] but the seat had last been contested at the 1885 general election.^[3] The Conservatives did not expect a contest in the by-election,^[4] and speculation that the novelist J. M. Barrie would stand as a Liberal Party candidate ended on 30 April when Barrie sent a telegram declining nomination.^[6]

Result

The nomination process was held in the Senate Hall of the University of Edinburgh on 3 May 1900, where the Principal Sir William Muir presided over a gathering of only about 20 people. Tuke was nominated by Professor Thomas Annandale of Edinburgh, and seconded by Professor Scott Lang of the University of St Andrews.^[7]

No other candidate was nominated, so Tuke was declared elected.^[7]^[3]

Aftermath

Tuke was re-elected unopposed at the general election in September/October 1900. At the 1906 general election, he was re-elected in a two-way contest with John Strachey (journalist), a Free Trader.^[3] He stood down at the January 1910 general election.^[3]

References

^ Craig, F.W.S. (1987). Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 93.
^ "Obituary: Sir William Priestley". The Times. No. 36114. London, England. 12 April 1900. p. 4. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Craig, F. W. S. (1983) . British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 571. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
^ ^a ^b "Election Intelligence: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities". The Times. No. 36120. London, England. 19 April 1900. p. 5. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
^ "Election Intelligence: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities". The Times. No. 36129. London, England. 30 April 1900. p. 9. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
^ "Election Intelligence: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities". The Times. No. 36130. London, England. 1 May 1900. p. 7. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
^ ^a ^b "Election Intelligence: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities". The Times. No. 36133. London, England. 4 May 1900. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.

v t e « 25th Parliament « By-elections to the 26th Parliament of the United Kingdom » 27th Parliament »
1895	August: West Cavan Inverness Burghs September: Dublin St Stephen's Green South Kerry Limerick Waterford November: Kensington South Liverpool East Toxteth Harrow December: Dublin University
1896	January: Belfast North St Pancras South Brixton February: Wycombe Montrose Burghs Southampton Lichfield March: South Louth East Kerry April: Dublin College Green North Kerry May: Aberdeen North Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities June: Frome Wick Burghs November: Bradford East
1897	January: Cleveland Salisbury Forfarshire February: Romford Walthamstow Glasgow Bridgeton Chertsey March: Halifax June: Petersfield July: South Roscommon August: Sheffield Brightside September: East Denbighshire October: Barnsley November: Middleton Liverpool Exchange Deptford
1898	January: Plymouth York Mid Armagh Dublin St Stephen's Green February: South East Durham Marylebone West Wolverhampton South Birmingham Edgbaston Pembrokeshire Cricklade March: Stepney Maidstone Wokingham May: West Staffordshire Newark South Norfolk June: Hertford Durham July: Gravesend West Down Reading August: Great Grimsby Launceston Southport September: North Down Darlington October: Ormskirk November: North Fermanagh Oxford December: Liverpool Kirkdale
1899	January: Aylesbury Newton Epsom February: Birmingham North Londonderry North West Lanarkshire Rotherham North Antrim March: Hythe Elland North Norfolk April: Harrow May: Merionethshire Oxford University Southport June: Edinburgh South Edinburgh East July: Osgoldcross Oldham St Pancras East October: Bow and Bromley November: Exeter December: Wells
1900	February: London University York Mid Armagh Rossendale Newark Plymouth South Mayo March: North Sligo Brixton Holborn May: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities Portsmouth Dublin University Isle of Wight Manchester South July: Wilton
Lists of UK by-elections 1801–1806 1806–1818 1818–1832 1832–1847 1847–1857 1857–1868 1868–1885 1885–1900 1900–1918 1918–1931 1931–1950 1950–1979 1979–2010 2010–present Northern Ireland Hereditary peers

v t e « 1868–1899 « By-elections in Scotland to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom 1900–1949 » 1950–present »
1900s	May 1900: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities September 1901: North East Lanarkshire November 1902: Orkney and Shetland February 1903: East Perthshire August 1903: Argyllshire September 1903: St Andrews Burghs January 1904: Ayr Burghs August 1904: North East Lanarkshire March 1905: Buteshire September 1905: Elgin Burghs February 1906: East Aberdeenshire February 1907: Aberdeen South Banffshire Perth April 1908: Kincardineshire May 1908: Dundee Stirling Burghs Montrose Burghs February 1909: Forfarshire March 1909: Glasgow Central Edinburgh South Hawick Burghs April 1909: Edinburgh East May 1909: Edinburgh West July 1909: Dumfries Burghs
1910s	April 1910: Govan Edinburgh South March 1911: North East Lanarkshire June 1911: Ross and Cromarty July 1911: Glasgow Tradeston September 1911: Kilmarnock Burghs December 1911: North Ayrshire Govan February 1912: Edinburgh East Glasgow St Rollox September 1912: Midlothian November 1913: Linlithgowshire December 1913: Wick Burghs South Lanarkshire February 1914: Leith Burghs April 1914: East Fife February 1915: Wigtownshire May 1915: Kilmarnock Burghs July 1916: Berwickshire October 1916: North Ayrshire December 1916: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities January 1917: Inverness-shire February 1917: West Perthshire April 1917: Aberdeen South May 1917: Edinburgh South July 1917: Dundee August 1917: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities May 1918: Elgin Burghs April 1919: Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central
1920s	February 1920: Paisley March 1920: Argyll April 1920: Edinburgh North Edinburgh South March 1921: Kirkcaldy Burghs April 1921: Glasgow Pollok May 1921: Orkney and Shetland March 1922: Inverness June 1922: Moray and Nairn May 1924: Glasgow Kelvingrove December 1924: Dundee June 1925: Ayr Burghs November 1925: Galloway January 1926: Dunbartonshire East Renfrewshire March 1927: Leith April 1927: Combined Scottish Universities April 1928: Linlithgowshire August 1928: Aberdeen North January 1929: Midlothian and Peebles Northern September 1929: Kilmarnock
1930s	June 1930: Glasgow Shettleston November 1930: East Renfrewshire May 1931: Glasgow St Rollox Rutherglen March 1932: Dunbartonshire June 1932: Montrose Burghs February 1933: East Fife November 1933: Kilmarnock March 1934: Combined Scottish Universities April 1935: Perth May 1935: Edinburgh West Aberdeen South June 1935: Combined Scottish Universities September 1935: Dumfriesshire January 1936: Combined Scottish Universities February 1936: Ross and Cromarty March 1936: Dunbartonshire November 1937: Greenock June 1937: Glasgow Hillhead September 1937: Glasgow Springburn February 1938: Combined Scottish Universities December 1938: Kinross and Western Perthshire March 1939: Kincardineshire and Western Aberdeenshire April 1939: South Ayrshire October 1939: Clackmannanshire and East Stirlingshire
1940s	April 1940: Argyllshire Glasgow Pollok May 1940: East Renfrewshire July 1940: Montrose Burghs February 1941: Dunbartonshire July 1941: Greenock Edinburgh West December 1941: Edinburgh Central April 1942: Glasgow Cathcart January 1943: Hamilton February 1943: Midlothian and Peebles Northern February 1944: Kirkcaldy Burghs April 1945: Motherwell Combined Scottish Universities October 1945: Edinburgh East February 1946: South Ayrshire Glasgow Cathcart August 1946: Glasgow Bridgeton November 1946: Aberdeen South Combined Scottish Universities December 1946: Kilmarnock November 1947: Edinburgh East January 1948: Glasgow Camlachie February 1948: Paisley September 1948: Glasgow Gorbals October 1948: Stirling and Falkirk November 1948: Glasgow Hillhead
Lists of UK by-elections 1801–1806 1806–1818 1818–1832 1832–1847 1847–1857 1857–1868 1868–1885 1885–1900 1900–1918 1918–1931 1931–1950 1950–1979 1979–2010 2010–present Northern Ireland Hereditary peers

Vacancy

Candidates

Result

Aftermath

See also

References