The 1902 Clitheroe by-election was held on 1 August 1902 after the incumbent Liberal MP Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth was elevated to the House of Lords.
The incumbent Liberal MP Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth was among the new peers in the 1902 Coronation Honours announced on 26 June.
The barrister Augustine Birrell was mentioned as a possible candidate for the Liberal Party, but withdrew his candidature early; as he found the constituency too far away from London to be able to give it adequate time to contest the seat.
[4] The Conservatives considered several candidates, including Colonel John William Robinson Parker, of Browsholme Hall, who had just returned from the Second Boer War in South Africa.
Shackleton was the only nominated candidate, and was elected unopposed at a meeting at Clitheroe Town Hall on 1 August.