 The seat had become vacant in October 1897 when the Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament (MP), John Bigham, had been appointed as a judge of the Queen's Bench division of the High Court.He had held the seat since the 1895 general election, having contested it unsuccessfully in 1892.Immediately after Bigham's appointment was announced, "The Times" newspaper reported on Saturday 16 October that the Liberal Unionist candidate was likely to be Charles McArthur, an average adjuster from Liverpool and former chairman of the city's chamber of commerce.