 The writ was received on 2 November, and nominations were set for 5 November, with polling on the 10th.The Exchange division included the central business district of Liverpool, which had long been Conservative-leaning, but the constituency had been held by the Liberals for most of existence.Since 1885, it had always been a marginal seat, in which the largest majority had been the 4.4% lead won by Bigham in 1895.