The Cost of a Vote.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVI, Issue 3, 18 January 1911, Page 56

The Cost of a Vote.

The grand total of candidates’ election expenses in the election of twelve months back in Britain, as shown by a Blue-book just issued by the Home Office, was £1,296,382 for 6,667,394 votes, which means an average of 3/11 per vote. Scotch elections arc the most expensive, the average cost per vote being 4/5, and Irish the cheapest, the cost being 2/11 per vote. County elections arc always more costly than borough elections; the cost per vote in Scotch counties was 5/4, but in Irish boroughs only 1/5. The cheapest election for each vote gained was that of Mr. Janies Parker in Halifax, whose 9,093 cost Bd. each. The next cheapest were those of Mr. llamsay MacDonald at Leicester, who paid 9d. per vote, and Mr. W. J. Thorne at West Ham S., 10d., while those who paid lid. per vote were Mr. A. J. Balfour and Sir F. Bambury in the City of London, Mr. J. McVeagh in South Down, and Mr. Summerbell in Sunderland. In the Orkney and Shetland division, Mr. T. W. Helmsley paid £1 9/8 for each vote to his successful opponent’s 5/9, while in the Walton division of Liverpool, where Mr. F. E. Smith was the winning candidate, Mr. Jellieoe’s expenses amo"nted to £2 0/8 for each of his votes.