The 1898 Liverpool Kirkdale by-election was a parliamentary

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

held in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 9 December 1898 for the British

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Liverpool Kirkdale.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant when the sitting

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament (MP), Sir George Baden-Powell had died on 20 November 1898, aged 50. He had held the seat since its creation for the 1885 general election, and had been re-elected with comfortable majorities at each of the three subsequent general elections.

Candidates

Several names were floated as possible Conservative candidates for the seat. On 26 November, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' newspaper reported that those being considered included: *

David MacIver David MacIver (24 August 1840 – 1 September 1907) was an English steam ship owner and a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1874 and 1907. Early life MacIver was born 24 August 1840 in Liverpool, t ...

, the chair of the Liverpool Conservatives who had been the MP for nearby

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

from

1874 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...

until he stood down at the 1885 general election, owing to business commitments *Alderman

John Houlding John Houlding ( – 17 March 1902) was an English businessman and local politician, most notable for being, the founder of Liverpool Football Club and later Lord Mayor of Liverpool. Formerly he was Everton FC Club President and member. In Nov ...

, a former

Lord Mayor of Liverpool The Lord Mayor of Liverpool is a largely ceremonial civic office of Liverpool City Council. The Lord Mayor is the ‘first citizen’ of Liverpool representing the city and acting as a focal point of community events and is also the Chair (off ...

* Joseph Hoult, a local

ship-owner A shipowner, ship owner or ship-owner is the owner of a ship. They can be merchant vessels involved in the sea transport, shipping industry or non commercially owned. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and expl ...

* Sir Edward P. Bates, the son of former

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

MP Sir Edward Bates, 1st Baronet The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

had already adopted as their candidate for the next election William Nelson, a ship-owner and

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous ...

lor. By the time Kirkdale Conservative Association met on 29 November, the local executive committee had already sent a telegram to 40-year-old Austin Taylor, inviting to be their candidate. Taylor, who was president of the Laymen's League and son of the Archdeacon of Liverpool, had deferred his answer until the day of the meeting. At the meeting, the divisional council refused to be bound by the decision of their executive, and the names of David MacIver and John Houlding were also formally proposed. After a discussion described by ''The Times'' as "long and animated", a substantial majority voted to select MacIver, a ship-owner whose father Charles had been manager of the

Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

from 1865 to 1897. The

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

s met on 1 December, and lamented their lack of preparedness. Local ship-owner Sir Christopher Furness had been invited to stand, but declined. Another ship-owner, H. Bell, had also turned down a request, and the meeting rejected a proposal to adopt

Thomas Snape Thomas Snape (1835 – 9 August 1912) was a British industrialist and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. Snape was born in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, and was initially employed by John Hutchinson and Sons, a company that pioneere ...

, the former MP for Heywood. The meeting decided to ask the Liberal

whips A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

to suggest potential candidates, as a result of which an approach was made to Sir Spencer Walpole, who rejected the invitation. ''The Times'' reported that several other unsuccessful approaches had been made. Kirkdale had a large

Irish Nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

population, so any candidate needed the support of both Liberals and Nationalists, but local councillor Thomas J. Flynn also refused to accept nomination despite an offer to meet all his election expenses.

Result

By the time nominations closed on 9 December, the Liberals had still not chosen a candidate. MacIver was the only candidate nominated, so the poll had been scheduled for 15 December, but never took place. MacIver was returned unopposed.