Electoral history
Since the Reading constituency was created in 1885 it had been closely contested between Liberal and Conservative; The Conservatives winning in 1885, 1886 and 1895 and the Liberals in 1892, 1898 and 1900. The Liberal victor on each occasion was Palmer, who was a very well known biscuit manufacturer in the town.[2] At the last election he had won narrowly;
Candidates
Isaacs (Lib)
- The local Liberal Association selected 44 year-old Rufus Isaacs as their candidate to hold the seat. Isaacs was a London barrister who had been made a QC in 1898. He was standing as a candidate for the first time.[4] In such a marginal seat, the Liberals were taking a risk by choosing an outsider to replace a well-known local man.
Keyser (Con)
- The local Conservative Association selected 57 year-old stockbroker Charles Keyser as their candidate. He was contesting Reading for the third time, having lost to Palmer in 1898 and 1900.[5]
- There was some expectation of a socialist candidate making it a three-way contest, as had been the case in the 1898 by-election.
Campaign
Polling Day was fixed for the 6th August 1904.
Result
The Liberals held the seat with an almost identical result to the previous election;
Aftermath
Keyser did not stand for parliament again. At the following General Election, Isaacs was re-elected;
References
- ↑ "Election intelligence". The Times (36781). London. 30 May 1902. p. 10.
- ↑ ‘PALMER, Rt Hon. George William’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 5 Jan 2017
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ ‘READING’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 5 Jan 2017
- ↑ ‘KEYSER, Charles Edward’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 5 Jan 2017
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig