this election, the Irish vote switched sides: having backed the Conservatives in 1885 during a temporary alliance over opposition to the Liberal budget, Gladstone's announcement of his support for home rule for Ireland led to strong support for the Liberals. The Irish vote in Paddington North was sizable and Cohen's denunciation of home rule together with Kempster's support for it had its effect in reducing the impact of a strong national trend towards the Conservatives. Cohen was re-elected with a slightly increased majority of 911 votes. 1887 In 1887, Lionel Cohen was taken ill with pleurisy whilst on holiday in Nice. He returned home to recuperate, but was thought by his doctor to have returned to work too early. He died of coronary thrombosis on 26 June 1887, thereby forcing a by-election. The Conservatives quickly (on 28 June) invited John Aird to defend the seat. Aird had nearly forty years of experience as a public works contractor and engineer, and was a Paddington local. Paddington North Liberals chose Edmund Routledge, a member of the Routledge publishing family. The major issue was still home rule for Ireland. The Liberals felt that they had done too little to promote and defend their policy in 1886 and determined to remedy the deficiency. At the same time, Routledge also said that he believed Ireland under home rule should continue to send MPs to the UK Parliament. This commitment was enough for George Trevelyan, a leading member of the Liberal Unionists to send him a letter of support: there was still hope at the time of the by-election of a reunion of the divided Liberal Party. However, the Marquess of Hartington, another Liberal Unionist, endorsed Aird. On polling day, a rumour circulated that Aird's company was a large employer of foreign labour to enable it to compete against British firms. The rumour appears to have been false. The election result showed that the situation in Paddington North had shifted to the Liberals since 1886, but not enough to endanger the Conservatives' hold on the seat. 1892 The Liberals had hopes of winning the 1892 general election, having rebuilt their strength after the split of 1886. Paddington North Liberals adopted Thomas Terrell, a barrister who had trained as an analytical chemist and also wrote novels and had stood in Devonport in 1885. Terrell started his attempt to dislodge Aird early, and held large public meetings outlining