1903 Dulwich by-election

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.

1903 Dulwich by-election

← 1900 15 December 1903 1906 →

Candidate Harris Masterman Party Conservative Liberal Popular vote 5,819 4,382 Percentage 57.0% 43.0%

MP before election Maple Conservative Subsequent MP Harris Conservative

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

Arrest of Jameson after the raid - Petit Parisien 1896

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

Dulwich by-election, 1903^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Rutherfoord Harris	5,819	57.0
	Liberal	Charles Masterman	4,382	43.0
Majority			1,437	14.0
Turnout			10,201
	Conservative hold		Swing

See also

• List of United Kingdom by-elections
• Dulwich constituency