639 Edmund Backhouse

Constituency : Darlington  1868-80

Edmund  was  the  first  MP  for  the  new  seat  of  Darlington. It  was  a  close  run  contest  which  prompted  the  establishment  of  The  Northern  Echo.

Edmund  was  the  son  of  a  Quaker  banker. He  became  a  junior  partner  in  the  bank  in  1845.

The  Times'  obituary  said  of   Edmund  that  he  "was  considered  one  of  the  ablest  representatives  sent  from  the  north  to  Parliament. He  was  not  an  orator , but  his  speeches  were  characterised  by  good  sense  and  extreme  caution.  His  judgement  was  considered  safe  and  he  was  always  conscientious."

Edmund  stepped  down  in  1880. His  son  Jonathan  joined  the  Liberal Unionists  and  was  rewarded  with  a  baronetcy.

He  died  in  1906  aged  82.