1878 Argyllshire by-election facts for kids
The 1878 Argyllshire by-election was a special election held on August 27, 1878. It happened because the person who was already in the job, a Liberal politician named the Marquess of Lorne, decided to leave his position as a Member of Parliament (MP). He left to become the Governor General of Canada, which is a very important role representing the Queen in Canada.
When an MP leaves their job early, a by-election is held to choose a new person for that spot. In this election, the seat was won by the Marquess of Lorne's brother, Lord Colin Campbell, who was also a member of the Liberal Party. This meant the Liberal Party kept control of the Argyllshire seat.
| By-election, 31 Aug 1878: Argyllshire | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Colin Campbell | 1,462 | 56.9 | N/A | |
| Conservative | John Malcolm | 1,107 | 43.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 355 | 13.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,569 | 82.0 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 3,133 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Election Costs
Running an election campaign costs money. These costs are called expenses. For Lord Campbell, his campaign expenses were £5,700 9s 4d. Colonel Malcolm, the other candidate, spent even more, with his expenses being around £9,000. This shows that elections, even back then, could be quite expensive!
