Rossendale by-election, 1900

The Rossendale by-election, 1900 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Rossendale in Lancashire on 13 February 1900.

The by-election was caused by the resignation of the sitting Liberal MP, John Henry Maden who had represented Rossendale since himself being returned in a by-election in 1892. Later, Maden would briefly return to Parliament as Rossendale’s MP between 1917-1918 when he would win the seat at a by-election 17 years later to the day and hold it until the 1918 general election.

Maden announced late in 1899 that he wished to resign as Rossendale’s Member of Parliament. The local Liberal Association met in December 1899 and passed a motion regretting Maden’s resignation, asking him to stay on until the next general election and authorising the search for a new candidate. Maden was unwilling to wait for the next general election however and it was clear that political differences had developed between Maden and his local party. He put out a statement in January 1900 placing the blame for his resignation on the officers of the Rossendale Liberal Council and their demands that he devote more time and, crucially, more of his own income to the constituency and its financial support. He specifically rejected the argument that he was tired of Parliament, which was probably true since he chose to return there at the by-election in Rossendale in 1917. He also denied that he had in any way fallen out of sympathy with the principles of Liberalism. In late January he sought an appointment as Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, a traditional device for resigning MPs.

There was clearly some bad blood between Maden and the local Liberal establishment however as when the time came Maden refused to sign the nomination paper of the Liberal candidate in the by-election and he refused to appear in support of the candidate during the election, leading to accusations of his being ‘the spoilt baby of politics.’

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