Despite his cries of ill-health however, Oldroyd continued to run his giant business, (albeit scaling down his responsibilities as the years progressed), until he retired in as Chairman in 1920.

Such disputes increasingly disappeared in the years leading up to the 1906 general election, reinforcing Labour as the growing force in British politics[12] but in 1901–02 in Dewsbury there was not yet any such harmony.

[13][14] The first man the Conservative Party wished to consider was George Sheard, a Batley JP and one of the town's successful "shoddy barons" who headed his own cloth manufacturing firm.

If he turned them down again (as indeed he chose to do on the grounds of advancing age)[7] they were likely to turn to either, Joe Haley, a three time Mayor of Dewsbury, Alderman Edmund Kilburn, JP who had also been Mayor of Dewsbury on two occasions,[15] or, although not a local man, to Forbes St John Morrow,[16] a barrister, the candidate opposing Oldroyd at the 1900 general election, and later to serve as Municipal Reform member on the London County Council between 1907–1922.

[21] He formally accepted nomination as candidate in a letter to the president of Dewsbury Conservative and Unionist Association, Major Fox, on Christmas Day 1901.

[22] With Dewsbury being a hitherto safe Liberal seat, the likelihood was that the local party would be spoiled for choice for potential candidates.

On meeting in early October 1901 they confined themselves to passing a resolution thanking Oldroyd for past services and regretting his decision to resign.

He had been Liberal MP for Oldham, winning a by-election there in 1898 but lost the seat at the general election of 1900 being beaten by Winston Churchill.

While supporting the prosecution of the Boer War, he attacked the government's handling of it, accusing them of a policy of drift which could not deliver a decisive military victory, the foundation for a lasting peace.

The previous Liberal MP had gone against the miners by opposing the eight-hour day, nationalisation and the abolition of fines, which he thought would lessen discipline in the industry and the local trades council refused to recommend any candidate to their members.

[20] By January however it was being reported that despite the vigour of the SDF campaign, their public meetings were not being well attended[26] but by the middle of the month Quelch's events were attracting larger numbers, although it was believed they found his socialist views too advanced or extreme.

[27] He spoke in support of the Boers, opening himself to accusations of a lack of patriotism and fell out with the local nonconformists over a book he had jointly authored which was interpreted as advocating free love.

[32] It seemed too that SDF support was not widespread enough to enable them to undertake a full canvas of the constituency, with some districts being neglected entirely due to lack of manpower.

The Liberals had held the seat with an outside candidate at a time when the country was at war and with their traditional constituencies among the working class and the Irish being targeted by labour.

The SDF had improved on the only previous labour candidacy in the seat at a time when the socialist political parties were disunited in the town and in spite of their candidate's radical opinions.