The 1896 Rothwell Urban District Council election was held on 28 March 1894.
Four of the council's five wards were contested, with Lofthouse-with Thorpe not having a poll owing to there being only one nominee. The independents had the most seats to defend, with three out of the five wards, and lost one, the South ward, to the Independent Labour Party. The Liberals retained both of their seats.
Election summary
| Party | Candidates | Votes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stood | Elected | Gained | Unseated | Net | % of total | % | ±% | No. | |
| Independent | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |  1
|
40 | 35 | -25.5 | 464 |
| Ind. Labour | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |  1
|
20 | 28.2 | -1.6 | 347 |
| Liberal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 
|
40 | 24.6 | +14.4 | 326 |
| Conservative | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.9 | 119 | ||
| Total | 1324 | ||||||||
| Turnout: 73.1% | |||||||||
| Registered electors: 1812 | |||||||||
Councillors not standing for reelection
| Councillor | Ward | Party | Reason | Successor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Peter Newsom[1] | North | Liberal | Newsom lost a pre-election vote to determine which candidate (of himself, John Abbinshaw and Richard Rodley) should contest the ward to defeat the I.L.P candidate. Newsome came second with 67 votes to Abbinshaw's 71. | John Abbinshaw (Liberal)[2][n. 3] |
Ward results
Note: Party affiliation is from either the 1896 Rothwell Times or sources from previous election results, unless noted otherwise. ±% is based on individual candidates, not parties, except for the new Liberal candidate in the North ward.
Carlton
The poll took place at Carlton Board school. The presiding officer for the Carlton ward was W. Wright, with support from poll clerk Butterworth.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | George Armitage* | 220 | 66.9 | +46 |
| Ind. Labour | John Clarkson | 109 | 33.1 | +20.3 |
| Majority | 111 | 33.8 | - | |
| Turnout | 331 | 72 | -5.8 | |
| Registered electors | 460 | |||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Bold indicates the candidate was elected. * indicates that the candidate was the incumbent councillor. | ||||
Lofthouse-with-Thorpe
Lofthouse-with-Thorpe did not have an election as incumbent councillor P.G. Milner was the only nominee.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | P.G. Milner* | |||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Bold indicates the candidate was elected. * indicates that the candidate was the incumbent councillor. | ||||
North
The North ward's polling station was the Old Board room on Churchfields. The presiding officer for the North ward was Perkins, with support from poll clerk Nicholson.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal[2][n. 3] | John Abbishaw | 180 | 63.8 | +45 |
| Ind. Labour | Wright Stead | 102 | 36.2 | +25.6 |
| Majority | 78 | 27.6 | - | |
| Turnout | ~282 | 75.2 | +1.4 | |
| Registered electors | 375 | |||
| Liberal hold | ||||
| Bold indicates the candidate was elected. * indicates that the candidate was the incumbent councillor. | ||||
South
The South ward's polling station was the council offices. The presiding officer for the South ward was Wimbush, with support from poll clerk Pears.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ind. Labour | J.W. Bulmer | 136 | 35.8 | - |
| Independent[n. 4] | Joseph Stead | 128 | 33.7 | - |
| Independent | Charles Ward* | 116 | 30.5 | +15.8 |
| Majority | 8 | 27.6 | 2.1 | |
| Turnout | 380 | 73.5 | -0.3 | |
| Registered electors | 517 | |||
| Ind Lab gain from Independent | ||||
| Bold indicates the candidate was elected. * indicates that the candidate was the incumbent councillor. | ||||
Stourton
The presiding officer for Stourton was Dyson, with support from poll clerks Martin The Stourton ward's results were declared at 11:15pm. [1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Tom Chapman | 146 | 44.1 | +24.1 |
| Conservative[2][n. 5] | Henry Nichols* | 119 | 35.9 | - |
| Majority | 27 | 8.2 | ||
| Turnout | 331 | 72 | -16.6 | |
| Registered electors | 460 | |||
| Liberal hold | ||||
| Bold indicates the candidate was elected. * indicates that the candidate was the incumbent councillor. | ||||
Reaction
Following the vote, there was a large attendance at the Mechanics Hall, where Cllr. James Hargreaves proposed a thanks to the presiding officer, J. Bouchier Wimbush, which was seconded by Raymond Ellis. [1]
The Rothwell Times noted that 9 of the Rothwell Local Board members were elected to the new Rothwell Urban District Council, along with “4 or perhaps 5 ... [L]abour representatives”. Therefore, there was the “prospect of all interests being considered” and the newspaper anticipated “the establishment of whatever is worth keeping, and the gradual addition of such improvements in our social condition as may be considered best for all.” [1]
Notes
- ↑ This includes the Independent councillor for Lofthouse who gained a seat in a by-election in 1895.
- ↑ One seat was lost in Lofthouse 1895 by-election.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The source is from years later so Nichols party affiliation may have changed.
- ↑ Stead's party affiliation was Labour in the prior election, however the Rothwell Times 1896 describes the Stead and Ward splitting the vote so the I.L.P could gain the seat.
- ↑ The source is from years later so Nichols party affiliation may have changed.
References
- Rothwell Times (1896a) ‘The Elections’, 20 March. Available at: https://archive.org/details/rothwelltimes1896complete/page/n13
- Rothwell Times (1896b) ‘The Elections’, 3 April. Available at: https://archive.org/details/rothwelltimes1896complete/page/n15
- Skyrack Courier (1902) ‘Rothwell’, 22 March, p. 5.
See also
| Rothwell Urban District Council elections | ||
| 1894 • 1896 • 1897 | ||