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The Edinburgh East by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
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Vacancy
Sir George McCrae had been Liberal MP for the seat of Edinburgh East since the Edinburgh East by-election, 1899. He resigned from the House of Commons to take up a position in Scottish government service, accepting the appointment of Vice-President of the Scottish Local Government Board.
Electoral history
The seat had been won by a Liberal at every election since it was created in 1885. They easily held the seat at the last election, with an increased majority;
Candidates
The local Liberal Association selected 60-year-old James Gibson to defend the seat. He had been Lord Provost, of Edinburgh since 1906. The Conservatives selected 29-year-old Patrick Ford as their candidate.
Campaign
Polling Day was fixed for 16 April 1909.
Result
The Liberal majority was only a ninth of their 1906 result. This was generally ascribed to the loss of the Roman Catholic vote because of the failure to settle the education question.;