1903 Dulwich by-election
UK parliamentary by-election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1903 Dulwich by-election was a by-election held on 15 December 1903 for the British House of Commons constituency of Dulwich in South London.
 | ||||||||||||||||
15 December 1903
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Vacancy
The by-election was triggered by the death of the serving Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP), Sir John Blundell Maple.
Candidates
- The Unionist (Conservative) candidate was Dr Frederick Rutherfoord Harris, who had previously been elected MP for Monmouth Boroughs in the 1900 general election but was disqualified the next year as a result of an election petition alleging irregularities.
- The Liberal Party candidate was Charles Masterman.
Campaign
The main issue in the by-election, as with the Lewisham by-election held on the same day, was tariff reform. Harris was a supporter of Joseph Chamberlain's proposals for Imperial Preference and was supported by the Tariff Reform League. Masterman was a supporter of the Liberal party policy of Free trade. Harris's involvement in the Jameson Raid affair was raised by his opponents.
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Frederick Rutherfoord Harris | 5,819 | 57.0 | N/A | |
| Liberal | Charles Masterman | 4,382 | 43.0 | New | |
| Majority | 1,437 | 14.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 10,201 | 75.5 | N/A | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||