1914 Londonderry City by-election

The 1914 Londonderry City by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 30 November 1914. The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Liberal Sir James Brown Dougherty was elected unopposed. Dougherty was the last Liberal MP elected in Ireland.

Vacancy

James Hamilton, Marquis of Hamilton had been elected as a Unionist in the 1910 general election, facing Nationalist opposition. He then succeeded to the Dukedom of Abercorn, resulting in the 1913 Londonderry City by-election, where the Roman Catholic hierarchy supported the Liberal David Hogg, a 73-year-old local shirt manufacturer and a Protestant. Hogg died in August 1914 and the by-election was called for 30 November.

Previous result

By-Election 30 January 1913: Londonderry City Electorate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Cleghorn Hogg	2,699	50.5	New
	Irish Unionist	Hercules Pakenham	2,642	49.5	−1.6
Majority			57	1.0	N/A
Turnout			5,341	97.6	+4.4
	Liberal gain from Irish Unionist		Swing

Candidates

Dougherty was a Presbyterian minister, professor of Logic and English, and civil servant.

Result

By-Election 30 November 1914: Londonderry City Electorate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Brown Dougherty	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal hold

Aftermath

Dougherty did not stand in the 1918 United Kingdom general election, when the seat was won by Eoin MacNeill of Sinn Féin in a contested election against Unionist and Nationalist candidates.

References

• Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.