At the
1885 general election, Whitmore unsuccessfully contested the
parliamentary borough of
Chelsea in
London, where he lost by 175 votes (2%) to the sitting MP, the
Liberal Sir Charles Dilke, Bt. However, in early 1886 Dilke was involved in a high-profile divorce case which grew into a high-profile sex scandal, and at the
next general election, in July 1886, Whitmore defeated Dilke with a majority of 176 votes. Whitmore served as the
Second Church Estates Commissioner, and in 1895 he was elected by
London County Council as an
Alderman for the
Moderate Party, serving until 1901. He was re-elected as MP for Chelsea at three further elections, but at the
1906 general election he was defeated by the Liberal candidate
Emslie Horniman. == References ==