London School Board election, 1885

The sixth election to the School Board for London was held on Monday, 2 November 1885.

The electorate included all ratepayers, including women, who were entitled to vote in vestry elections, and women could also be members.

The "Metropolis" or area of the Metropolitan Board of Works was divided into eleven divisions for the election of school board members: each division returned between four and seven members depending on population. At the 1885 the existing Lambeth Division, which had seen a large increase in population, was divided into two divisions: Lambeth East and Lambeth West. The total size of the board was increased from 53 to 55 members.

Each voter had a number of votes equal to the number of seats in the division. The voter was free to allocate the votes between the candidates in any way they wished. Where an elector gave all of his votes to a single candidate this was known as "plumping", and was seen as a way of ensuring representation of minority religious denominations. Voting was by secret ballot, with the exception of the City of London, where open voting was used.

Politics
By the time of the fifth election, the majority party on the board, informally known as the School Board Party, had held control since 1870. The party's candidates were supporters of the "Compromise of 1871" whereby new schools built by the board were non-denominational. Religious education included study of the bible, but in a manner that would allow children of all Christian denominations to attend classes. Allied to these were "Working Men's" and "Non-Conformist" candidates.

In opposition to them were the "Economy" or "Moderate" Party: in favour of ending the school building programme and reducing the wages of teachers, thus bringing down the school board rate. In many cases they were also advocates of "voluntary" or denominational schools. Prior to the formation of the board the few elementary schools that had existed belonged for the most part to various church organisations. Advocates of voluntary schools formed alliances with ratepayers associations and various parish vestries.

In general the candidates opposing the board's policy received the support of the Conservative Party organisation, while the "School Board" faction were aligned with the Liberal Party.

There were also some independent candidates.

Results
Successful candidates are shown in bold type. Members of the outgoing board have an asterisk next to their name. <!--

Southwark (4 members)
Joint addresses were issued by Richardson and Hawkins and by Bordman and Side.

Co-options to 1885
The school board elected in 1879 had a three-year term of office. Under the terms of Section 44 of the Elementary Education Act 1876 casual vacancies occurring in the membership of school boards due to death or resignation were filled by co-option. Where a vacancy occurred the sitting members nominated a candidate or candidates. Where there was only one nomination, they were automatically co-opted. Where there was more than one candidate, the vacancy was filled by a vote of the entire board.

Westminster (6 March 1884)
Resignation of Hobhouse.

Westminster (6 November 1884)
Resignation of Aveling. -->