1908 Hastings by-election

[1] The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The seat had become vacant following the resignation of the sitting Unionist MP, Harvey Du Cros, on grounds of ill health.

He had been born and raised in Dublin before entering the family rubber tyre manufacturing business in the Birmingham area.

The themes raised in the by-election ranged over many issues of the day and the clash between what was seen as the local man (Du Cros) versus the government incomer (Harcourt), even though they were both outsiders to the area.

[7] The Conservatives held the seat and managed an increased majority; Both the Sussex Express and The Times newspapers were agreed that the Unionist victory was "first and foremost [due] to Tariff Reform and particularly to the colonial preference side of the question".