[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.

Winston Churchill had been Liberal MP for the seat of Manchester North West since the 1906 general election when he gained it from the Conservatives.

When the Liberals came to power he was Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1905–1908, and newly appointed to the Cabinet as President of the Board of Trade.

Although there was no Labour Party candidate, the rival Social Democratic Federation parachuted in a 54-year-old Branch Secretary, Dan Irving to contest the seat.

[2] This opposition was led by the Women's Social and Political Union and suffragettes Constance Markievicz, Eva Gore-Booth, and Esther Roper.

The Lancashire and Cheshire Women's Suffrage Society, who had supported Churchill during the by-election, were angered by the actions of the WSPU, stating that they were "actively assisting to return men to the House of Commons who are the sworn enemies of the people."

Joynson-Hicks gained personal notoriety in the immediate aftermath of this election for an address to his Jewish hosts at a dinner given by the Maccabean Society, during which he said "he had beaten them all thoroughly and soundly and was no longer their servant.