The Independent Labour Party decided to dissociate itself from the decision of the Social Democratic Federation to bring forward a candidate [5] and chose to support Toulmin.

When the by-election was called one of the first acts recorded was a public vote of support for Toulmin by the Irish Nationalist electors of the town, on the basis that they had received from him a satisfactory declaration of his sympathy with the cause of Home Rule.

The Liberal leader, Henry Campbell-Bannerman wrote to Toulmin deploring the government's proposed introduction of a duty on corn, claiming this would lead to the poorest in the community having to pay more for their bread or suffering some deterioration in the quality of their loaf and stating that this measure was the first step in the government's plan to reverse the country's traditional Free Trade approach.

Toulmin apparently held strong views against the legislation [11] although as Bury had no school board as set up by the Elementary Education Act 1870, it was not thought to have such great resonance as elsewhere.

Joseph Chamberlain the great Liberal Unionist Secretary of State for the Colonies urged the electors of Bury not to support a party willing to surrender to the Boers.

The corn tax issue seems to have been more of true vote winner for the Liberals than even political correspondents anticipated as Toulmin took the seat with a majority of 414 – a swing of 9% [16] and he continued to hold it at the next three general elections.

The Conservative MP for Oldham, Winston Churchill conceded to Prime Minister Arthur Balfour six months after the Bury result that the corn tax remained 'very unpopular'.