1911 South Somerset by-election
The South Somerset by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 21 November 1911. 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. Vacancy Sir Edward Strachey the Liberal MP since 1892, was raised to the peerage as Baron Strachie, of Sutton Court in the County of Somerset and accepted ennoblement at start of November 1911 to join the House of Lords. This is in connection with the Parliament Act 1911, where many Liberal peers were created to overcome their relative deficit, a party having had renewed landslide political support of the people in the elected chamber. Electoral history Candidates Henry Harvey Vivian, born in West Devon, was given the task of defending a seat that had been Liberal since it was created in 1885. He had been Liberal MP for Birkenhead until his defeat at the December 1910 general election. The Conservative candidate was Aubrey Herbert who had stood here unsuccessfully in both 1910 general elections. He was second son of the 4th Earl of Carnarvon, whose family owned a small part of the district, including Pixton Park, West Somerset, one of his