882 Albert Grey

Constituency  : South  Northumberland  1880-85, Tyneside  1885-6

Albert  won  the  second  seat  at  South  Northumberland. He  had  tied  with  the  Tory  , Edward  Ridley  at  a  by-election  there  in  1878  but  declined  to  have  his  votes  scrutinised  and  gave  way  to  Ridley.

Albert  was  a  grandson  of  the  Whig  prime  minister  Earl  Grey. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Cambridge. After  graduating  Albert  became  private  secretary  to  Sir  Henry  Frere  on  the  Council  of  India  and  accompanied  the  Prince  of  Wales  on  tour  there.

Despite  his  withdrawal  at  the  by-election  Albert  was  serious  about  politics. He  was  looking  to  develop  a  distinctive  Whig  programme.  He  gave  the   address  in  answer  to  the  Queen's  Speech  in  1880. He  opposed  the  Irish  Land  Bill. He  tried  to  secure  proportional  representation  in  the Third  Reform  Act.   In  1884  he  became  one  of  the  founder  members  of  the   Imperial  Federation  League  looking  to  turn  the  Empire  into  a  Federation.

In  1885  Albert  switched  to Tynesde  winning  his  seat  easily  and  believing  he  was  independent  of  the  local  Liberal  caucus. He  put  down  an  amendment  to  Dillwyn's  motion  on  Welsh  disestablishment  calling  for  reform  not  abolition.

Albert  broke  decisively  with  Gladstone  on  Home  Rule. Lewis  Harcourt  described  him  as  "thirsting  for  the  blood  of  the  Irish  and  all  who  sympathise  with  them".  He  was  an  important  organising  force  behind  the  party  split. With  another  election  approaching  he  asked  his  agent  about  his  chances The  reply  was  candid  , "You  have  no  supporters  and  I  am  your  only  friend". Only  13  out  of  1,000  men  at  a  Newcastle  meeting  had  supported  his  position. Nevertheless  Albert  fought  the  seat  as  a  Liberal  Unionist   and  was  defeated  by  his  former  colleague  at  Northumberland  South, Wentworth  Beaumont  by  122  votes.

In  1894  Albert  succceeded  his  uncle  as  Earl  Grey. He  was  a  friend  of  Cecil  Rhodes  and  became  a  director  of  the  British  South  Africa  Company  often  serving  as  a  liaison  between    Rhodes  and  Chamberlain. He  served  as  Administrator  of  Southern  Rhodesia  in  1896-7. He  invested  heavily  in  South  Africa  but  his  ventures  failed  and  he  was  virtually  bankrupt  when  appointed  Governor General  of  Canada  in  1904. He  oversaw  the  attachment  of  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan  to  the  Canadian  Confederation . He  was  a  close  friend  of  Theodore  Roosevelt. He  was  also  largely  responsible  for  the  creation  of  the  Canadian  navy,  Albert's  imperialism  meant  he  had  frequent  clashes  with  the  Quebec  nationalists. He  supported  Asian  immigration  to  Canada  up  to  the  Russo-Japanese  War  then  became  more  circumspect.  He  promoted  sport  in  Canada.

Albert's  term  finished  in  1911. He  returned  to  the  UK  and  became  president  of  the Royal  Colonial  Institute.

He  died  in  1917  aged  66.  Alfred  Pease  described  him  as  "one  of  the  most  irresistible  and  charming  of  men, with  tact, temper, humour ; he  had  a  most  happy  disposition, and  his  ceaseless  efforts  told  on  the  young  for  he  was  always  young  himself".