1880 Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election

Strutt was invited to contest Berwick-upon-Tweed by the Liberal Committee a year before the March 1880 general election.^{[1]: 41 } Both Strutt and the other Liberal candidate, Dudley Marjoribanks, were elected to the two available seats as part of an unexpected national swing towards the Liberals.^{[1]: 299 [2]} On 30 June 1880, Strutt's father died and Strutt inherited his title,^{[1]: 305 [3]} and thus his seat in the House of Lords, disqualifying him from his Commons seat. The writ for a by-election was issued on 6 July and the election was held on 19 July.^[3]

The Conservative candidate David Milne Home had previously been an MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed from 1874 to April 1880.^{[1]: 302 } The Liberal candidate was John McLaren, the Lord Advocate. McLaren had lost his seat upon seeking re-election after his appointment in April 1880, being defeated by Conservative Mark MacTaggart-Stewart.^[4] The Glasgow Herald noted that "[t]here were very fair prospects for the Liberal cause at Berwick" seeing as the two Conservative candidates had come last at the recent general election.^[5] However, Home won the contest by two votes, which The Herald attributed to Liberal voters not turning out and better organisation by the Conservatives.^[5]