| Election Name: | North East Derbyshire by-election |
| Type: | presidential |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Previous Election: | North East Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s |
| Previous Year: | 1910 |
| Next Election: | North East Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s |
| Next Year: | 1918 |
| Election Date: | 20 May 1914 |
| Candidate1: | Bowden |
| Party1: | Unionist Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote1: | 6,469 |
| Percentage1: | 39.7% |
| Candidate2: | Houfton |
| Party2: | Liberal Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote2: | 6,155 |
| Percentage2: | 37.8% |
| Candidate3: | Martin |
| Party3: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote3: | 3,669 |
| Percentage3: | 22.5% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| MP | |
| Posttitle: | Subsequent MP |
| Before Election: | Harvey |
| Before Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
| After Election: | Holmes |
| After Party: | Liberal Party (UK) |
The 1914 North East Derbyshire by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 20 May 1914.[1] The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. About a third of the electorate were directly involved in the mining industry. This was the penultimate by-election to take place before the outbreak of the First World War. It demonstrated the weakness of support for the Labour party in 1914 when opposed by a Liberal party candidate.
The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting MP, W. E. Harvey on 28 April 1914 of pneumonia. He had represented the seat since 1907 when he was elected as a Liberal.
Harvey was a senior figure within the Derbyshire Miners Association and also prominent in the Miners Federation of Great Britain.[2] However, in 1909, when the latter body determined to instruct all sponsored miners MPs to take the Labour party whip, Harvey was forced to change his political allegiance. He was re-elected as a Labour candidate in both 1910 general elections when the Liberal party decided not to put up a separate candidate and instead to support Harvey.[3] At the last general election, he was comfortably returned;
The Liberal campaign was dealt an early blow when their Constituency Organiser, Samuel Short, who would have been their By-election Agent, died.[15]
Given that a third of the electorate were directly involved in the mining industry, issues affecting the industry should have dominated the campaign. However the issues surrounding the selection of Martin caused a falling out between the Liberal and Labour parties that cast a shadow over other issues. For the Labour Party, this seemed like an ideal situation to take on the Liberal Party over the issue of miners representation. Their candidate had the official backing of the local miners association and their Liberal opponent was one of bosses the union dealt with.
John Houfton attended the national Liberal Council meeting where he gave a speech about the by-election, in an effort to rally Liberal support from outside the constituency.[16]
On the 14 May nominations closed to confirm that the election would be a three-cornered contest.[17]
The Liberal campaign issued a leaflet entitled 'The Houfton Herald' which presented the issues in national politics in clear and emphatic language.[18]
Electors went to the polls on 20 May 1914. Despite a fall in the Unionist vote share, their candidate gained the seat from the Labour Party, due to a split in the progressive vote; Bowden attributed his victory mainly to his opposition to Irish Home Rule, but also for his opposition to the National Insurance Act.[19] This attribution flew in the face of the fact that 60.3% of the electorate voted for candidates who supported Irish Home Rule. Despite the miners union fielding a Labour Party candidate, it appeared as if the majority of miners decided to vote Liberal. It also indicated that regardless of any local situation, voters were more likely to be influenced by the national situation. The election result confirmed the weakness of the Labour Party as an electoral force when challenged by a Liberal candidate. The result was a humiliation for the Labour Party and a lesson to the Derbyshire Miners Association about party affiliation.
A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the autumn of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election.
Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place. Bowden found himself estranged from the North East Derbyshire Unionist Association, going so far as to issue libel proceedings against the association's vice-chairman.[21] He continued as the MP, but when he faced re-election in 1918 he was denied endorsement from his party leader Bonar Law and the Coalition Government which contributed to his defeat. The local Liberals replaced Houfton as their candidate and Labour replaced Martin.[22] The Derbyshire Miners Association continued to find itself at odds with the Miners Federation of Great Britain over matters other than candidate selection and party allegiance. During the General Strike of 1926, the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire miners brokered a deal with the local colliery owners, led by Houfton. However, the deal was opposed by the MFGB which resulted in a formal split in the local miners unions that lasted into the 1930s.