London School Board election, 1876

The third election to the School Board for London was held on Thursday, 30 November 1876.

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 ten divisions for the election of school board members: each division returned between four and seven members depending on population.

The old board had 49 seats, the new board had 50. Due to an increase in population in south London, the representation of Lambeth Division was increased from 5 to 6 members. On the outgoing board there was 1 vacancy and 19 of the 48 sitting members did not seek re-election.

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 third election, the board was largely split into two parties. On one side was the School Board Party, 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 were the Voluntary Schools candidates who sought to promote 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. A "Church Party", consisting of prominent Church of England clergyman and laymen sought to end the building of board schools on the grounds that it was a waste of ratepayer's money. This had been joined by some other denominations and a formal committee formed to nominate candidates in each division.

In general the Voluntary Schools candidates 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.

City of London (4 members)
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Chelsea (4 members)
Cromwell and Reade issued a joint address.

Finsbury (6 members)
In the Finsbury Division there were six candidates for six seats, so all were elected unopposed.

Tower Hamlets (5 members)
The five sitting members issued a joint address. They were opposed by one new candidate, Joseph Bardsley, who was elected at the expense of William Pearce.

Byelections to 1876
The school board elected in 1873 had a three-year term of office. Where casual vacancies occurred these were filled by the holding of by-elections. There were two by-elections in the term of the second board.

Westminster (November 1875)
Resignation of Smith 21 November 1874.

The election was fixed for 29 November 1875. However, when nominations closed

Finsbury (29 November 1875)
Death of Tabrum 17 July 1875.

Unfilled vacancy at Marylebone
on 16 October 1872 John Harris Heal resigned his seat as a representative of Marylebone. No attempt was made to fill the vacancy.-->