Taunton by-election, 1887
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Samuel Charles Allsopp
Conservative
Alfred Percy Allsopp
Conservative
The Taunton by-election of 1887 was held on 23 April 1887 in Taunton, Somerset, following the succession of the incumbent, Samuel Charles Allsopp, to the peerage upon the death of his father, becoming 2nd Baron Hindlip. One of Lord Hindlip's brothers, Alfred Percy Allsopp, stood for the Conservative Party, while James Harris Sanders was the candidate for the Liberal Party. Allsopp was elected, with a majority of 536 votes (23.1%).
Although they had considered not contesting the election because the area was a Conservative stronghold, the Liberals decided to do so in order to generate a discussion on the issue of Home Rule for Ireland. Allsopp was in agreement with the Conservative policy, which was to maintain full governmental control over Ireland, and pass further Coercion Acts to reduce lawlessness in that country. Sanders, who had lost two previous elections for the Liberal Party, was in favour of devolution of powers to Ireland.
At the 1886 general election, Samuel Allsopp held his seat in parliament unopposed for the Conservative Party. In April 1887, his father, Henry Allsopp, 1st Baron Hindlip, died. As a result of this, Samuel Allsopp succeeded, entering the House of Lords as a peer. This left the parliamentary consistency of Taunton vacant. The Conservative Party offered Samuel Allsopp's brother, Alfred Percy Allsopp (commonly known as Percy Allsopp) the chance to contest the vacancy. Initially it was reported that the Liberal Party would not contest the seat if Percy Allsopp was the only Conservative candidate, but a meeting of the local executive could not reach a consensus: some believed that as the area was so strongly Conservative, a large loss would be damaging to the party, while others wanted to generate a debate on Home Rule. Despite the Taunton executive of the Conservative Party selecting Percy Allsopp as their preferred candidate, the town's Mayor, Samuel Farrant, declared that he would also stand for the Conservatives, which led to concern within that party that a split of the votes could result in a Liberal candidate being elected. Farrant later withdrew his candidacy, leaving Allsopp as the Conservative's sole representative. After their initial uncertainty, the Liberals opted to give the Taunton electorate the opportunity to show their views on Home Rule, and chose James Harris Sanders, of London, as their candidate.
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