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

Silvester Horne had been one of the Liberal MPs for the dual member seat of Ipswich since the January 1910 election.

On 22 May 1914 David Lloyd George a close ally of Masterman, visited the constituency to speak for the Liberal campaign.

Unionists had given support to a possible call to arms to resist the introduction of the Liberals Irish Home Rule Bill.

[5] This was the last contested by-election to take place before the outbreak of the Great War, after which the main political parties agreed an electoral truce.