It was in 1832—and the Tory candidate was none other than Gladstone, then on the right of the Conservative Party. Alistair Lexden describes the election in a letter (below) published in The Daily Telegraph on June 7, following the Tory victory in the crucial by-election in Newark.
Dear Sir
The last occasion on which the Conservative Party campaigned so intensively in Newark was in 1832 immediately after the Great Reform Act. Their leading candidate in the then two-member seat was none other than Gladstone, at that time “the rising hope of the stern, unbending Tories”.
On the day of his nomination he spent six and a half hours on the hustings with stones missing his head by “twelve inches”, as he noted with his customary precision. “An outrageous noise, in groaning, hissing, and shouting prevented him proceeding” with his speech.
Nevertheless he finally emerged at the head of the poll by 89 votes in an electorate of 1,575 after lavish sums had been spent on free food and drink. “I was born Red, I live Red and I shall die Red”, the victor proudly proclaimed, that being the defiant Tory colour.
Yours faithfully
Lord Lexden
London SW1