London School Board election, 1882

The fifth election to the School Board for London was held on Friday, 24 November 1882.

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 eight members depending on population. The total size of the board was 53 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.

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Politics
By the time of the fourth 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 previous elections the majority party had been opposed by the "Church Party", consisting of prominent Church of England clergyman and laymen who sought to end the building of board schools on the grounds that it was a waste of ratepayer's money. This later became known as the "Voluntary Schools Party", seeking 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. Voluntary schools were also supported by the Roman Catholic Church, and a formal committee was formed to nominate candidates in each division. By 1879 it had become clear that there was insufficient support for denominational schools in London for the party ever to form a majority, and at least one board member elected under the "Voluntary" banner had crossed to the majority benches. Rather than remain a powerless opposition the advocates of voluntary schools formed alliances with ratepayers associations and various parish vestries. They ran candidates committed to "economy" by ending the school building programme and reducing the wages of teachers, thus bringing down the school board rate.

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.

Greenwich (4 members)
There were only four candidates for the four seats, so all were elected unopposed

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

Co-options to 1883
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.

Lambeth (21 October 1880)
Disqualification of Wylie due to bankruptcy.

Marylebone (21 October 1880)
Death of Watson.

Finsbury (16 December 1880)
Death of Rodgers.

Hackney (12 May 1881)
Death of Reed.

Tower Hamlets (15 June 1882)
Resignation of Scrutton. -->