Leeds Parliamentary Election Results
1910 - 5th December
Central
R. Armitage (Liberal) 3,519
J. Gordon (Conservative) 3,169
East
J. O’Grady (Labour) 4,028
W. H. Clarke (Conservative) 1,892
North
R. H. Barran (Liberal) 9,324
J. D. Birchall (Conservative) 9,056
South
W. Middlebrook (Liberal) 6,064
W. Nicholson (Conservative) 3,804
J. Badlay (Labour) 2,706
West
T. E. Harvey (Liberal) 8,715
G. W. H. Jones (Conservative) 4,445
Following the death of Edward VII and the failure of the constitutional conference to resolve the dispute with the House of Lords, Asquith called a second election. The result was virtually a dead heat between the Conservatives with 271 seats and the Liberals with 272. Once again, the Irish Parliamentary Party with 74 seats held the balance of power and supported the Liberals. In Leeds polling day was damp and dull with the roads treacherous for the hundred of cars used by both sides. Again the Conservatives failed to win a seat but in Leeds there were significant swings to them.
Birchall made a major impact in Leeds North by reducing the Liberal majority from 1,611 to 268. In Leeds Central Armitage’s majority was halved, dropping from 621 to 350. Leeds South saw a drop from 4,603 to 2,260 whilst Labour’s majority in Leeds East dropped from 3,065 to 2,136. Only in Leeds West was the Liberal majority increased when their majority went up from 3,315 to 4,270.
In Leeds East history was inadvertently made when a 'Francis' Rushworth listed on the register voted for Alderman Clarke at York Road Board School. Frances was a 29 year-old female dressmaker who lived at 24 Beckett Street and whose name had been misspelt on the register as ‘Francis’. When challenged she claimed, ‘What’s more, I voted last January.’
[No general election held from 1914–1918 during the war.]