Their sons won the by-election, but the result led to fighting in the town of Blackburn and was denounced by the Liberal Party candidates as a "farce".
[1] The two Conservatives who had been elected, Joseph Feilden and William Henry Hornby, were unseated when Mr Justice Willes found that there had been widespread intimidation of voters.
[1] The candidates themselves were absolved of direct involvement in the intimidation, but their agents were held responsible for a document known as the "screw circular".
He favoured the abolition of the ratepaying qualification for elections, a national system of education, a reduction in taxation and the legalisation of trade unions.
[2] There was no secret ballot until 1872, so voting was conducted in public at the hustings, which were attended by a large number of police armed with cutlasses.
Fielden said that he hoped that Potter would not dare challenge the result again, and then a fight broke out, which was speedily broken up the police.