Bootle by-election, 1911
The Bootle by-election, 1911 was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Bootle in Merseyside on 27 March 1911. It was won by the Conservative Party candidate Andrew Bonar Law.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant on 13 March 1911 when the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), 73-year-old Thomas Myles Sandys had resigned from the House of Commons by the procedural device of accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead, a notional 'office of profit under the crown'. He had held the seat since the 1885 general election, and died on 18 October 1911.
Previous results
At the previous December 1910 general election, Conservative MP Thomas Myles Sandys was elected unopposed. However, there was a previous contest at the General election in January:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Thomas Myles Sandys | 9,954 | 52.9 | +1.8 | |
| Liberal | Dr W Permewan | 8,869 | 47.1 | -1.8 | |
| Majority | 1,085 | 5.8 | +3.6 | ||
| Turnout | 18,823 | 78.7 | +4.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Bonar Law | 9,976 | 56.2 | ||
| Liberal | Max Muspratt | 7,782 | 43.8 | ||
| Majority | 2,194 | 12.4 | |||
| Turnout | 17,758 | 69.7 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
The result was a victory for the Conservative candidate, Andrew Bonar Law, who won the seat with 56% of the votes. He did not contest Bootle in 1918, and was instead elected in the Glasgow Central constituency.
Bonar Law was later elected Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons, and went on to hold a series of ministerial positions before becoming Prime Minister for seven months from 1922 to 1923