In July 1894 Lord Rosebery proposed a Bill in the House of Lords designed to reform the current legislation on aliens, although it was withdrawn in August 1894 after its second reading. Restrictionism came to be a notable canvassing topic in the 1892 and 1895 General Elections,; and the recently-succeeded Earl of Hardwicke proposed a similar Aliens Bill in 1898. In 1898, a year after William Evans-Gordon left the Army, a by-election was held in Stepney after the sudden death of the standing Tory MP Frederick W. Isaacson. Evans-Gordon stood as the Conservative candidate, but lost to the Liberal journalist W. C. Steadman by 20 votes.