It was a parliamentary borough consisting only of the town of Ripon itself until the Great Reform Act 1832; the right to vote was vested in the holders of the tightly controlled burgage tenements — count-of-head polls were accordingly rare — for, the last contested election in Ripon before the Reform Act 1832 was in 1715.

By 1832 it was estimated that there were 43 men qualified to vote; the total of adult males over age 20 in the township in 1831 was recorded at 3,571.

The Reform Act 1867 which came into force at the 1868 election reduced Ripon's representation from two MPs to one and enfranchised many of the under-represented high-growth areas of Britain.

Seat reduced to one member Hay was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;