1910 Barnstaple by-election oppose Soares’ re-election. The feeling in the constituency was reported to the party leadership in London as being against another contest in view of what was regarded as the uncertainty of the political situation and the strong possibility of another general election in the near future. There being no other candidates putting themselves forward Soares was returned unopposed. 1910 Barnstaple by-election The Barnstaple by-election, 1910 was a parliamentary by-election held for the House of Commons constituency of Barnstaple in North Devon on 2 March 1910. The by-election was caused by the appointment of the sitting Liberal MP, Ernest Soares as
Barnstaple Bay. The name is first recorded in the 10th century and is believed to derive from the Old English "bearde", meaning "battle-axe", and "stapol", meaning "pillar", referring to a post or pillar set up to mark a religious or administrative meeting place. The belief that the name derives from "staple" meaning "market", indicating that there was a market here from the foundation of the settlement, is incorrect, because the use of "staple" in that sense is not recorded in England before 1423. Barnstaple was formerly referred to as "Barum", from a contraction of the Latin form of the name (ad