The by-election in Devonport was caused by the death on 3 October of one of the sitting Liberal MPs, Edward John Chalmers Morton.
He was the founder of the National Industrial Association, an organization which sought to promote British trading interests by reconciling the claims of capital and labour.
Many Liberals were strongly nonconformist and the idea that Church of England and Roman Catholic schools should be funded from the rates, a form of local taxation, was anathema to them.
[7] The bill was debated in the House as the campaign in Devonport took place, and Brassey "heartily approved of the strenuous resistance ... offered by the Liberal party", making it one of the main issues of the election.
[6] He had spent the years after his 1900-defeat showing a great deal of attention to the dockyard and the conditions of the men working there, and was known to favor dialogue between capital and labour.