| Election Name: | 1914 Leith Burghs by-election |
| Type: | presidential |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Previous Election: | North East Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s |
| Previous Year: | 1910 |
| Next Election: | Leith Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1910s |
| Next Year: | 1918 |
| Election Date: | 26 February 1914 |
| Candidate1: | Currie |
| Party1: | Unionist Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote1: | 5,159 |
| Percentage1: | 37.8% |
| Candidate2: | Smith |
| Party2: | Liberal Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote2: | 5,143 |
| Percentage2: | 37.7% |
| Candidate3: | Bell |
| Party3: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote3: | 3,346 |
| Percentage3: | 24.5% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| MP | |
| Posttitle: | Subsequent MP |
| Before Election: | Ferguson |
| Before Party: | Liberal Party (UK) |
| After Election: | Benn |
| After Party: | Liberal Party (UK) |
The 1914 Leith Burghs by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 20 February 1914.[1] 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.
Munro Ferguson had been the Liberal MP for Leith Burghs since 1886 when he succeeded William Gladstone. In February 1914, he was appointed to the post of Governor-General of Australia and thus resigned his seat.
This was the result at the last election;The result of the previous election is worth noting because it was a three-way contest;
Labour's intervention was expected to hurt the Liberals, but there was evidence that they might still win a three-way contest; Although Labour had not stood here last time, a Labour candidate had contested the January 1910 general election, finishing third and polling 18.9%.
Although Bell was a moderate in Labour Party terms, his campaign was run by extreme Socialists. Bell explained his position by stating he was a Socialist and he was selected by the working class bodies of Leith. The Seamans Union Leader Havelock Wilson visited the constituency to speak in support of the Liberal candidate and was involved in an exchange with the Socialist Emmanuel Shinwell who sought court action for alleged slander with £1,000 for damages.[2]
The Unionists gained the seat from the Liberals.
A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.The Leith Burghs seat was abolished and mainly replaced for the 1918 elections by Leith. Smith did not contest the 1918 elections but was elected MP for Orkney & Shetland in 1921.Bell became Labour's prospective candidate for the new seat of Leith but was replaced at the eleventh hour.