Constituency : Orkney and Shetland 1885-1900
Now we come to the Liberal victors in the 1885 general election. It was one of the strangest campaigns of the century. Gladstone's government hadn't made it to the finishing post , going down on an amendment to the budget in June 1885 when Parnell's party voted with the Tories. A minority administration under Lord Salisbury took over with Parnell's tacit blessing. This situation was not conducive to a disciplined Liberal campaign and Chamberlain and Hartington went out in the country promoting their very different versions of Liberalism with Gladstone holding the ring somewhere between them. In the meantime Parnell , still thinking he could extract more concessions from Salisbury, urged Irish voters in Britain to vote for the Conservatives and a rough electoral pact between the Liberals and Nationalists in Ulster broke down.
The result was something of a stalemate. The Liberals were down from 352 to 335 and that included 16 who stood as independent from the party. Big gains in London were offset by big losses in the South East; the significant difference was in Ireland where they lost all their seats. Parnell's party went up by the same margin but this left him in the position where he could put the Liberals in or out but couldn't sustain the Tories.
Leonard took over from Samuel Laing in Orkney and Shetland.
Leonard was the son of a colonel and nephew of Charles Lyell the famous geologist. He gave some lectures on geography at the University of Aberystwyth in the 1870s..
Leonard assiduously raised local issues in Parliament.
Leonard was created a baronet in 1894 and became Baron Lyell in 1914.
He died in 1926 aged 75. His son Charles also became a Liberal MP but predeceased him.
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