Manchester North West by-election, 1908

The Manchester North West by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Winston Churchill had been Liberal MP for the seat of Manchester North West since the 1906 General Election when he gained it from the Conservatives. He was obliged to submit to re-election in after his appointment as President of the Board of Trade, as the Ministers of the Crown Act required newly appointed Cabinet ministers to re-contest their seats.

Before Churchill had gained the seat it had been Conservative since it was created in 1885. So it was a tough assignment to retain the seat given the result was in 1906;

Polling Day was fixed for the 24 April 1908.

Manchester had been a key battleground at the 1906 General election. It was known to favour Free trade and oppose the protectionist policies of Joseph Chamberlain. Conservatives defeats in Manchester in 1906 were blamed on Tariff reform policies. Many Manchester Conservatives opposed Tariff reform, including Joynson-Hicks. His position helped to neutralise the issue in the by-election and promote local Conservative unity. However, Churchill still received endorsement from the Free Trade League.

Suffragettes harassed Churchill, over his refusal to support legislation that would give women the vote. This local opposition was led by suffragetes Constance Markievicz, Eva Gore-Booth, and Esther Roper.

There was Jewish hostility to Joynson-Hicks over his support for the controversial Aliens Act.

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