1910 Govan by-election
UK parliamentary by-election
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The 1910 Govan by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the UK House of Commons constituency of the Govan Division of Lanarkshire on 28 April 1910.
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the appointment of the sitting Liberal Member of Parliament (MP), William Hunter KC as Solicitor General for Scotland.[1] Under the Parliamentary rules applicable at the time if Hunter wished to remain an MP he had to resign and fight a by-election.
Candidates
The Govan Liberals re-selected Hunter to try to retain his seat which he had held since the January 1910 general election when he obtained a majority of 1,429 votes and gained the seat from the Unionists.[2]
It was reported that the Unionists were not eager to contest a by-election and that "as a matter of courtesy" Hunter might be allowed a walkover. An added consideration was that it seemed likely a new general election would be called within a few months.[3] Representatives of the Conservatives and Liberal Unionists met on 21 April to discuss the by-election and decided not to put up a candidate.[4]
Despite having contested the constituency at the previous general election, the Labour Party[5] also chose not to oppose Hunter.
The result
There being no other candidates putting themselves forward, Hunter was returned unopposed.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Hunter | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||