1136 John Durant

Constituency  : Stepney  1885-6

John  took  the  new  seat  of  Stepney , fighting  off  a  petition  agiainst  his  election.

John  was  an  ironmonger's  son  from  Essex. He  was  educated  at  British  School, Fordingbridge. He  started  out  as  a  compositor  and  became  a  master  printer. He  was  a  Christian  Socialist  with  an  interest  in  land  reform  and  was  a  founder  of  the  Land  Nationalisation  Society. He  wrote  pamphlets  on  the  subject.

John  never  spoke  in  Parliament.

John  was  defeated  in  1886.

He  died  in  1929  aged  83.

1135 Harry Levy-Lawson

Constituency : St  Pancras  West  1885-92,  Cirencester  1893-5, Mile  End  1905-06, 1910-12 , 1912-16  ( from  1905  Liberal  Unionist ,  from  1912  Conservative ) 

Harry  took  the  new  seat  of  St  Pancras  West.

Harry  was  the  son  and  heir  of  the  Conservative, Baron  Burnham  who  owned  The  Daily  Telegraph. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford. He  was  treasurer  of  the  Free  Land  League, vice  president  of  the  Municipal  Reform  League and  on  the  executive  committee of  the  Municipal  Federation  League.

Harry  supported  the  Compulsory  Purchase  of  Land  Bill  saying  it  was  "most  unjust  that  the public  should  be  robbed  at  every  turn  simply  to  give  a  bribe  and  a  sop  to  the  landed  interest".

 In  1889  Harry  was  elected  to  London  County  Council  and  in  1891  he  became  entitled  to  practise  as  a  barrister.

The  Conservatives  took  over  at  St  Pancras  West  in  1892  with  Harry  re-entering  for  Cirencester  at  a  by-election  in  1893. The by-election  was  re-run  after  Harry  challenged  his  opponent's  victory  by  3  votes.

After  his  defeat  in  1895, Harry  decided  he  could  no  longer  support  the  Home  Rule  policy  and  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists.

 He  took  over  the  proprietorship of  the  Daily  Telegraph  in  1903. He  eventually  returned  for  Mile  End  in  1905  but  lost  the  seat  in  the  following  year's  election. He  won  it  back  in  January  1910.

From  1902  to  1913  Harry  had  held  a  commission  in  the  Royal  Buckingham  Hussars  and  on the  outbreak  of  World  War  One   he  rejoined  as  a  training  officer.

Harry  vacated  his  seat  in  1916  on  succeeding  to  his  father's  peerage. He  was  upgraded  to  a  Viscount  in  1919.

After  the  war  Harry  chaired  the   Standing   Joint   Committee  on  Education  formulating  new  teachers  pay  scales  in  all  state  schools. He  chaired  International  Labour  Conferences  in  1921-23 and  the  World  Press  Conference  in  1927.

In  1928  Harry  sold  the  Daily  Telegraph  to  Lord  Camrose.

He  died  in  1933  aged  70.

1134 Thomas Bolton

Constituency : St  Pancras  North  1885-6, 1890-95

Thomas  won  the  new  seat  of  St  Pancras  North.

Thomas  was  born  at  Clerkenwell. He  became  a  solicitor  in  1869.

Thomas  was  a  frequent  speaker  in  the  Commons  on  legal  matters  but  never  held  government  office.

Thomas  was  defeated  in  1886  but  regained  the  seat  in  a  by-election  in  1890  when  the  Tory  became  a  peer.

Thomas  stood  down  in  1895.

He  died  in  1915  aged  75.

1133 Thomas Gibb

Constituency : St  Pancras  East  1885-6

Thomas  won  the  new  seat  of  St  Pancras  East.

Thomas  was  born  in  Liverpool. He  was  educated  at  King's College  London.  He  was  joint  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Liverpool  Mercury  He  was  Clerk  to  the  Vestry  of  St  Pancras.
Thomas  was  an  advocate  of  municipal  reform.

Thomas  was  defeated  in  1886. He  asked  three  mundane  questions  during  his  time  in  Parliament. He  was  an  alderman  of  London  County  Council.

He  died in  1894  aged  55.

1132 Henry Green

Constituency : Poplar  1885-6

Henry  took  the  new  seat  of  Poplar  in  1885.

Henry  was  educated  at  Cheam  School  and  Bonn  University. He  was  a  senior  partner  in  a  London  shipowning  firm  and  a  director  of  the  East  and  West  India  Company. He  was  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Shipping  and  appointed  to  a  Royal  Commission  into  losses  at  sea.

Henry  was  defeated  in  1886.

He  died  in  1900  aged  61.

1131 Richard Chamberlain

Constituency : Islington  West  1885-92

Richard  took  the  new  seat  of  Islington  West.

Richard  was  the  younger  brother  of  Joseph  Chamberlain.  He  was  educated  at  University  College  London . He  was  Mayor  of  Birmingham  from  1879  to  1880.

Unsurprisingly  Richard  went  with  his  brother  into  the  Liberal  Unionists.

He  died  in  1899  aged  59.

1130 Henry Spicer

Constituency : Islington  South  1885-6

Henry  won  the  new  seat  of  Islington  South.

Henry's  father  was  a  wholesale  stationer.  He  received  a  Congregationalist  education  then  attended the  University  of  London. He  was  a  member  of  the  London  School  Board.

Henry  was  defeated  in  1886.

He  died  in  1915  aged  78.

1129 Randal Cremer

Constituency : Haggerston  1885-95, 1900-08

Randal  won  the  new  seat  of  Haggerston  as  a  Liberal-Labour  candidate.

Randal  came  from  a  working  class  background. His  father  was  a  coachman  who  abandoned  the  family  when  Randal  was  still  young. He  received  a  elementary  education  from  the  local  Methodist  school  and  thereafter  was  self-taught.  He  started  work  as  a  builder's  apprentice  and  became  a  skilled  carpenter. He  began  trade  union  activities  after  moving  to  London  in  1852. He  was  secretary  of  the  International  Workingmen's  Association  from  1865  to  1867  when  they  got  too  radical  for  him. Randal  was  a  pacifist  who championed  international  arbitration  as  an  alternative  to  war.  He  was  a  founder  of  the  Reform  League  in  1864  calling  for  manhood  suffrage  and  the  secret  ballot. He  helped  found  the Workmen's  Peace  Association  in  response  to  the  Franco-Prussian  War  and  became  its  general  secretary. He  stood  for  Warwick  in  1865.

Randal  co-founded  the  Inter-Parliamentary  Union  and  the  International  Arbitration  League.  In  1887  he  collected  MPs  signatures  for  an  address  to  President  Cleveland  calling  for  an  Anglo-American  treaty. He  worked  in  the  preparation  of  the  Hague  peace  conferences  in  1899  and  1907. In  1903  he  won  the  Nobel  Peace  Prize.

Randal  also  campaigned  for  technical  education.

Randal  was  narrowly  defeated  in  1895.  The  Liberal  party  spent  a  considerable  sum  on  litigation  to  try  and  overturn  the  result.  He  also  lost  a  libel  case  that  year  and  took  it  so  badly  he  was  briefly  hospitalised  as  a  result.  He  regained  the  seat  in  1900  despite  his  opposition  to  the  Boer  War.

Randal  was  a  fierce  opponent  of  an  independent  labour  party   and  called  Keir  Hardie  " a  catspaw  of  the  Tories".

Randal  accepted  a  knighthood  towards  the  end  of  his  life.

He  died  of  pneumonia  in  1980  aged  79.

1128 Howard Spensley

Constituency : Finsbury  Central 1885-6

Howard  took  the  new  seat  of  Finsbury  Central.

Howard  was  a  merchant's  son  from  Middlesex. He  was  educated  at  a  mercantile  academy  and  emigrated  to  Australia  in  1859.  He  worked  as  a journalist  in  Melbourne  for  a  number  of  years  then  practised  as  a   barrister. In  1871  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Victorian  Legislative  Assembly. He  was  Solicitor-General of  Victoria  from  1871  to  1873.  He  returned  to  England  in  1876  but  still  represented  Victoria  at  the  Geographical  Congress  at  Venice  in  1881  and  the  Amsterdam  Exhibition  of  1883.

Howard  was  an  advanced  Liberal  and  in  March  1886  announced  his  intention  to  bring  in  a  bill  for  the  payment  of  MPs.

Howard  was  defeated  in  1886  by  five  votes. He  stood  unsuccessfully  for  Dudley  in  1892.

He  died  in  1902  aged  69.

1127 John Moulton

Constituency : Clapham  1885-6,  Hackney  South  1894-5, Launceston 1898-1906

 John  won  the  new  seat  of  Clapham.

John  was  a  Methodist  minister's  son  from  Shropshire. He  was  educated  at  Kingswood  School  and  Cambridge  where  he  won  intellectual  prizes. He  became  a  Fellow  at  Cambridge  studying  maths  but  then  became  a  barrister  specialising  in  patent  law. He  was  also  interested  in medical  research  and  was  first  chairman  of  the  Medical  Research  Council. In  another  string  to  his  bow  he  was  awarded a  French  honour  for  helping  establish  international  units  for  measuring  electricity.

John  supported  the  idea of  landlords  paying  the  rates. He  was  an  ardent  Free  Trader.

John  stood  down  in  1906  and  became  a  Lord  Justice   of  Appeal  as  Baron  Moulton.

In  1914   John  was  made  head  of  a  committee  on  the  supply  of  explosives. He  then  became  Director-General  of  the  Explosives  Department. He  organised  a  brilliant  team  which  greatly  expanded  the  production  of  explosives  until  there  was  more  than  enough  for  the  number  of  shells  produced. They  also  produced  fertilisers  and,  despite  John's  personal  disapproval, poison gases.  For  his  work  John  was  showered  with  honours  by  Britain  and  its  allies. He  was  the  last  person  to  receive  the  Order  of  the  White  Eagle  before  the Tsar's  collapse.

John  was  a friend  of  Charles  Darwin.

John  returned  to  his  legal  practice  after  the  war  despite  many  offers  from  the  chemical  industry.

He died  in  1921  aged 76.

1126 Richard Strong

Constituency : Camberwell  North  1885-6

Richard  took  the  new  seat  of  Camberwell  North.

Richard  ws  the  son  of  a  flour  merchant. He  was a  member  of  the  Metropolitan  Asylums  Board, a  governor  of  Dulwich  College  and  chairman  of  the  Exmouth  Training  Ship  Committee.

Richard  made  no  parliamentary  contributions  and  did  not  defend  his  seat  in  1886.

In  1888  Richard  was  elected  to  London  County  Council  as  a  Progressive. He  was  a  councillor  until  1904  and  an  alderman  from  then  until  1910.

He  died  in  1915  aged  81.

1125 William Robson

Constituency : Bow & Bromley  1885-6, South  Shields 1895-1910

William  took  the  new  seat  of  Bow  &  Bromley.

William  was  the  son  of  a  merchant  from  Newcastle. He  was  educated  at  Cambridge  and  became  a  barrister.

In  1896  William  spoke  against  revising  the  procedure  for  scrutinising  the  Estimates  stating  it  might  lead  to  a  revival  of  jobbery.

In  1905  William  was  appointed  Solicitor  General  by  Campbell-Bannerman  and  promoted  to  Attorney  General  by  Asquith  in  1908. He  represented  Britain  in  the  North  Atlantic  Coast  Fisheries  Arbitration.

Between  the  two  elections  in  1910  William  was  made  a  Lord  of  Appeal  and  created  Baron  Robson . He  resigned  as  a  Lord  of  Appeal  two  years  later.

He  died  in  1918  aged  66.

1124 Edward Pickersgill

Constituency : Bethnal  Green South  West  1885-1900, 1906-11

Edward  took  the  new  seat  of  Bethnal  Green  South  West.

Edward  was  the  son  of  an  architect  from  York. He  was  educated  at  York  Grammar  School  then  became  a  clerk  in  the  Post  Office  Savings  Bank. He  went  to  London  University  and  became  a  barrister.

Edward  was  a  Radical  with  an  interest  in  penal  reform. He  campaigned  for  an  end  to  the  death  penalty  , flogging  and  imprisonmenr  for  debt.  Edward  was  a  member  of  the  Home  Rule  Union  and  was  part  of  a  delgation  to  Ireland  in  1887.

In  1888  Edward  put  down  a  motion  to  reduce  the  City  Solicitor's  salary  for  his  lethargy  in  prosecuting  investment  fraud,

Edward  was  a  "Progressive"  on  London  County  Council  from  1892  to  1895.

Edward  was  defeated  in  1900  but  regained  the  seat  in  1906.

In  1906  Edward  took  up  the  cause  of  the  dispossessed  Basuto  tribe  in  South  Africa , chairing  a  reception  for  their  chiefs  in  London.

In  1911 he  resigned  his  seat  in  order  to  become  a  stipendiary  magistrate  but  died  of  pneumonia  just  a  few  months  later  aged  61.

1123 George Howell

Constituency : Bethnal  Green  North  East  1885-95

George  took  the  new  seat  of  Bethnal  Green North  East  as  a  Liberal-Labour  candidate. He  failed  in  a  criminal  libel  action  against  a  Tory  agent  who  accused  him  of   mishandling  a  union  special  fund.

George  was  a  builder's  son  from  Somerset. He  was  educated  at  a  Church  of  England  school  then  started  work  as  a  bricklayer  for  his  father. Growing  tired  of  this  he  took  an  apprenticeship  as  a  shoemaker. He  got  involved  in  the  tail  end  of  the  Chartist  movement  in  1848  when  he  was  15. He  became  a  Methodist  lay  preacher  and  an  advocate  of  temperance. He  moved  to  London  in  1854  and  was  forced  back  to  bricklaying  for  lack  of  opportunities. He  started  attending  political  meetings  and  met  Marx  and  Bradlaugh. He  joined  the  Operative  Bricklayers  Society  agitating  for  a  nine  hour  day  and  was  blacklisted  by  employers. In  1861  he  was  appointed to  the  executive  of  the London  Trades  Council. In  1865  he  became  secretary  of  the  Reform  League  and  was  active  in  the  agitation  for  the  Second  Reform  Act  though  he  was  dissatisfied  that  the  result  fell  short  of  universal  suffrage.  Nevertheless  he  adnministered  a  special  fund  to  mobilise  working  class  voters  for  the  Liberals  in  working  class  constituencies.   Between  1868  and  1874  he  was  secretary  of  the  Representative  Reform  Association  which  advocated  proportional  representation.He  became  secretary  of  the  TUC  in  1871. He  stood  for  Aylesbury  in  1868  and  1874  and  in   by-elections  at  Norwich  in  1871  and  Stafford  in  1881.

George  supported  female  suffrage, secular  education  and  disestablishment  of  the  church

George  helped  to  pass  the  Merchant  Shipping  Act  in  1894.

George  was  defeated  in  1895.

George  suffered  poor  health  in  later  years. The  TUC  raised  a  testimonial  to  buy  him  an  annuity.

George  relied  on  journalism  for  his  income  and  wrote  some  books  on  labour  matters.

He  died  in  1911 aged  76.

1122 Octavius Morgan

Constituency : Battersea  1885-92

Octavius  won  the  new  seat  of  Battersea.

Octavius  came  from  a  large  Welsh  family. He  founded  two  firms  with  his  brothers,  Morgan  Bros  ( a  mercantile  firm ) and  the  Patent  Plumbago  Crucible  Company. They  also  started  trade  journals  such  as  European  Mail, Ironmonger, Chemist  and  Druggist. Octavius  was  a  world  traveller.He  was  a  member  of  the  Municipal  Reform  League.

Octavius's  election  was  immediately  challenged  as  one  of  his  companies  had  a  government  contract. He  resigned  the  seat  while  the  matter  was  sorted  out   and  was  unopposed  at  the  subsequent  by-election.

Octavius  was  a  persistent  questioner  in  the  House  particularly  on  imperial  matters. In  1887  he  gave  a  lecture  to  the  Montreal  branch  of  the  Imperial  Federation  League  in  Montreal. He  supported  an  elected  House  of  Lords.

In  1892  Ocatavius  switched  to  Ashton-under-Lyne  to  accommodate  John  Burns  at  Battersea  but  failed  to  be  elected.

He  died  in  1896  aged  59.

1121 Robert Everett

Constituency : Woodbridge  1885-6, 1892-5,1906-10

Robert took  the  new  seat  of  Woodbridge  which  became  something  of  a  bellweather.

Robert  was  a  yeoman  farmer  from  a  relatively  humble  background. He  stood  for  East  Suffolk  in  1880. He  was  a  member  of  Ipswich  Town  Council  then  East  Suffolk  County  Council. He  was  a  Baptist  lay  preacher.

Robert's  maiden  speech  was  in  favour  of  manhood  suffrage  and  a  certain  amount of  female  suffrage.

Robert  stood  down  in  January  1910.

Robert  wrote  two  pamphlets  on  agricultural  issues. He  was  also  a  member  of  Suffolk  County  Council. He  was  a  supporter  of  bimetallism. He  was  an  opponent  of  vivisection  and  compulsory  vaccination. He  called  for  a  division  of  rates  between  owner  and  occupier.

He  died  in  1916 aged  83.

1120 John Rigby

Constituency : Wisbech 1885-6,  Forfarshire  1892-4

John took  the  new  seat  of  Wisbech.

John  was  from  Runcorn. He  was  educated  at  Liverpool  College  and  Cambridge. He  became  a  barrister. In  1875  he became  junior  counsel  to  the  Treasury.

 John's  maiden  speech  was  a  long-winded  peroration  supporting  the  Home  Rule  Bill .

John  was  defeated  in  1886. He  switched  to  Scotland  in  1892 and  won  at  Forfarshire ,unseating  the  Liberal  Unionist  James  Barclay. Gladstone  appointed  him  Solicitor-General  and  he  was  knighted.  He  was  heavily  involved  in  the  debates  on  the  second  Home  Rule  Bill  where  the Tories  kept  throwing  up  constitutional  problems  for  "Rigby" to  unpick; his  good  grace  and  humour  in  dealing  with  them  made  him  very  popular. The  Illustrated  London  News    said  he  "combines  the  geniality  of  an  ocean  skipper  with  the  unction  of  a  Methodist  divine, a  unique  association  which  accounts  for  much  of  his  popularity". He  was  then  very  briefly  Attorney-General.

In  1894  John  became  a  Lord  Justice  of  Appeal  and  thereby  resigned  his  seat. He  served  in  the  Court  of  Appeal  until  he  retired  in  1901. By  that  time  John  had  suffered  a  fall  which  affected  his  health.

He  died  in  1903  aged  69.

1119 William Quilter

Constituency : Sudbury  1885-1906 ( from  1886  Liberal  Unionist )

William  took  the  new  seat  of  Sudbury. The  campaign  was  marred  by  rioting  caused  by  inadequate  polling  faclities  which  William  did  his  best  to  quell.

William  was  the  son  of  an  accountant  who'd  been  involved  in  setting  up  the  Institute  of  Accountants. William  was  privately  educated  and  became  a  stockbroker. He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  National  Telephone  Company.

William  introduced  a  bill  for  securing  the  purity  of  beer  in  1886. He  switched  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  was  returned  unopposed  in  1886, 1895  and  1900. In  1906  he  was  narrowly  defeated. His  son  reclaimed  the  seat  as  a  Conservative  in   January  1910.

William  introduced  a  powered  chain  ferry  between  Bawdsey  and  Felixstowe  that  ran  until  1931. In  1897  he  was  created  a  baronet.

William  was  an  art  collector  , particularly  of  watercolours  and  a  keen  yachtsman. He  built  up  a  number  of  independent  breweries  in  Suffolk.

He  died  in  1911 aged  70.

1118 Felix Cobbold

Constituency : Stowmarket  1885-6, Ipswich 1906-09

Felix  won  the  new  seat  of  Stowmarket.

Felix  was  the  son  of  a  former  Conservative  MP  for  Ipswich. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and Cambridge  and  became  a  barrister. He  gave  up  practice  to  become  bursar  at  King's  College, Cambridge.  Five  years  later  he  was  persuaded  to  return  to  Suffolk  to  run  the  family  businesses  in  brewing  and  banking.  He  also  maintained  a  farm   at  Felixstowe    and  supported  independent  smallholdings  and  allotments.   Though  his  brothers  remained  Tories  Felix  was  a  radical  who  advocated  franchise  extension  though  not  to  women. He was  Mayor  of  Ipswich.

Felix  disagreed  with  Gladstone  over  Home  Rule  and  declined  to  defend  his  seat  in  1886  which  went  to  the  Tories. He  did  not  join  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  stood  for  Woodbridge  in  1900  as  a  declared  opponent  of  the  Boer  War.

In  1895  Felix  presented  Christchurch  Mansion  and  Gippeswyk  Park  to  the  town  of  Ipswich. In  1903  he  bought  a  stake  in  the  Bury  Free  Press.

In  1906  Felix  was  returned  for  Ipswich  with  a  huge  majority.

Felix's  maiden  speech  in  1906  called  for  a  reduction  in  the  garrison  at  Malta.  In  1907  he  was  rebuked  by  the  Speaker  for  talking  about  India  when  the  motion  in  question  specifically  excluded  India.

He  died  in  1909  aged  68. He  left  £20,000  in  his  will  to  Ipswich  for  the  purchase  of  artworks. He  also  endowed  an  Agricultural  Trust  to  further  improvements  in  practice  which  still  exists.

1117 Herbert Gardner

Constituency : Saffron  Walden  1885-95

Herbert  took  the  new  seat  of  Saffron  Walden.

Herbert  was  the  son  of  Baron  Gardner  but  as  he  was  born  two  years  before  his  parents  were  married  he  was  unable  to  succeed  to  the  barony. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Cambridge. He  managed  the  Amateur  Dramatics  Club  at  Cambridge  and  later  both  performed  with  and  wrote  for  the  Canterbury  Old  Stagers. He  was  a  director  of  P  &  O.

Herbert  was  President  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  ( a  non-Cabinet  post  )  under  Gladstone  and  Rosebery. In  1893  he  warned Gladstone  that  "unless  some  steps  are  taken  towards  alleviating  the  present  agricultural  distress  very  considerable  Parliamentary  embarrassment  may  evince  in  the  coming  session. He  also  told  Harcourt  that  hostile  farmers  could  make  things  difficult  for  stalwart  Liberals  among  the  labourers.

In  1895  Herbert  became  a  peer  as  Baron  Burghclere. He  was  an  Ecclesiastical  Commissioner  from  1903  to  1921  and  chairman  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Historical  Monuments  in  England.

Herbert  wrote  several  novels  and  plays.

He  died  in  1921  aged  74. His  daughter  married  Evelyn  Waugh.

1116 John Westlake

Constituency : Romford  1885-6

John  won  the  new  seat  of  Romford.

John  was  a  wool-stapler's  son  from  Cornwall. He  was  educated  at  Cambridge  and  became  a  barrister  though  he  spent  his  career  in  academia  rather  than  practice. He  married  the  suffragist  Alice  Hare  and  supported  the  cause.. He  was  connected  with  the  Christian  Socialist  movement  and  taught  at  the  Working  Men's  College.

John  put  down  a  motion  in  1886  to  reject  the  clause  in  the  Shop  Hours  Bill  which  exempted  family  members

John   spoke  against  Home  Rule   saying  the  Bill  was  unworkable  "such  a  Constitution  as  this  Bill  proposes  could  only  lead  to  separation  or  reconquest  "  . He  pleaded  for  the  Irish  to  "be  content  to  remain  in  the  Legislative  Union  with  a  large  measure  of  self-government". John  could  not  persuade  the  local  Conservatives  to  support  him  in  his  seat  despite  urgings  from  Salisbury  and  neighbouring  Conservative  candidates. Salisbury  described  him  as  a  "clever  man" . He  came  third  as  the  Tories  took  the  seat.

In  1888  John  became  Whewell  professor  of  international  law  at  Cambridge. From  1900  to  1906  he  served  at  the  International  Court  at  The  Hague. In  1905  he  helped  revive  the  Proportional  Representation  Society.

John  wrote  three  highly  regarded  works  on  international  law.

He  died  in  1913  aged  85.

1115 Joseph Arch

Constituency : North West  Norfolk 1885-6, 1892-1900

Joseph  won  the  new  seat  of  North  West  Norfolk. His  campaigning  helped  the  Liberals  secure  some  vital  wins  in  rural  constituencies  to  offset  losses  in  the  boroughs. The  National  Liberal  Club  held  a  banquet  in  his  honour  in  January  1886  with  Chamberlain  presiding. Joseph  personally  disapproved  of  canvassing. He  was  fiercely  attacked  by  the  Tories. One  called  him  "a  heavy  lump  of  a  farmer, very  thick-witted  I  thought  &  dull  but  they  say  he  is  a  good  speaker  on  his  own  subjects.... dresses  in  coloured  clothes  and  wears  a  bill-cock  hat  - no  pretence  of  being  a  gentleman  or  a  clever  man". Another  said  "He  has  been  among  Hodges  and  hedge-cutters  all  his  life. He  has  got  into  a  rhetorical  groove- a  low  and  simple  one - which  he  cannot  get  out  of". On  the  other  hand  Joseph  had  support  from  the  local  gentry  who  lent  him  their  carriages  for  the  transport  of  voters.

Joseph  was  a  cottager's  son  from  Warwickshire  who  became  an  agricultural  labourer. He  was  also  a  Prmitive  Methodist  preacher  and  developed  a  reputation  as  a  radical  orator. He  was  self-educated  from  newspapers  and  became  an  ardent  Liberal. He  began  agitating  for  a  living  wage  for  agricultural  workers  in  the  1870s. In  1872  the  National  Agricultural  Labourer's  Union  was  formed  with  Joseph  as  President  and  had  100,000  members  two  years  later. In  1873  he  was  invited  to  Canada  by  the  government  there  to  assess  the  country's  suitability  for  emigration  by  agricultural  workers. Joseph  helped  over  40,000  families  to  settle  there  and  Australia. He  supported  Gladstone's  Bulgarian  agitation  and  attended  a  Workmen's  peace  Association  conference  in  Paris  in 1875.  He  stood  for  Wilton  in  1880  . He  then  agitated  for  his  workers  to  be  enfranchised  by  the  Third  Reform  Act.

Having  secured  that , Joseph  himself  got  elected  in  1885. He  is  not  always  included  in  the  list  of  Lib-Lab  MPs  having  little  in  common  with  those  from  the  industrial  boroughs.  He  himself  was  very  suspicious  of  urban  unionists  coming  onto  his  patch . Joseph  was  the  victim  of  a  derogatory  cartoon  in  Punch  which  portrayed  him  as  a  bovine, badly-dressed   oaf  in a  bowler  hat. His  maiden  speech  in  1886  was  in  support  of  Jesse  Collings's  "three  acres  and  a  cow " amendment  to  the  Queen's  Speech  which  ushered  in  Gladstone's  third  ministry. He  rejected  the  Cottagers  Allotment  Gardens  Bill  as  "derisory, as  flimsy, worthless... an  insult  and  mockery  to  us ".

Joseph was  defeated  in  1886  but   elected  to  Warwickshire  County  Council  in  1889  and  re-elected  to  Parliament  in  1892. He  is  generally  regarded  as  a  political  failure, disappointing  his  supporters  an  making  little  contribution  to  Parliament . He  was  a  member  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  the  Aged  Poor  in  1893. His  authoritarian  style  at  the  NALU  was  increasingly  criticised. In  1896  the  union  folded  leaving  Joseph  in  financial  difficulty. His  friends  in  the  party  , including  Rosebery,  bought  him  an  annuity.

In  1898  Joseph  published  an  aggressive  autobiography  lambasting  his adversaries  including  his  successors  at  the  Union  who  allowed  it  to  decline.

Joseph  was  a  fierce  defender  of  Free  Trade. He  also  backed  the  Vigilance  Association  for  the  Defence  of  Personal  Rights.

Joseph  retired  before  the  1900  election.

He  died  in  1919  aged  92.

1114 Francis Taylor

Constituency : Norfolk  South  1885-98

Francis  won  Norfolk  South , now  a  single  member  seat. It  had  been  split  between  the  parties  in  1880  and  the  Liberal  member  Francis  was  replacing  was  Robert  Gurdon  who  had  switched  to  Mid  Norfolk.

Francis  came  from  a  family  of  brewers, partners  in  the  firm  of  "Taylor  and  Dowson's"  in  the  town  of  Diss. He  was  a  Poor  Law  Guardian  in  Norfolk  and  then  a  magistrate.

In  1886  Francis  went  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists.

Francis  retired  on  health  grounds  in  1898.

He  died  in  1915  aged  70.

1113 Herbert Cozens-Hardy

Constituency : North  Norfolk  1885-89

Herbert  triumphed  in  a  seat  which  had  previously  always  been  represented by  two  Tories.

Herbert  was  educated  at  Amersham  School  and  University  College, London. He  became  a  barrister  and  was  chairman  of  the  General  Council  of  the  Bar.

Herbert's  contributions  to  Parliament  were  legalistic, often  suggesting  small  alterations  to  the  wording  of  bills.

Herbert  resigned  his  seat  in  1889  to  become  a  judge. He  was knighted  at  the  same  time.

In  1901  Herbert  became  a  Lord  of  Appeal  then  was  Master  of  the  Rolls  from  1907  to  1918. In  1914  he  became  Baron  Cozens-Hardy.

He  died in  1920  aged  81.

1112 George Newnes

Constituency  : Newmarket  1885-95, Swansea  1900-1910

George  took  the  new  seat  of  Newmarket.

George  was  the  son  of  a  Congregationalist  minister. He  was  educated  at  City  of  Lonon  School.  He  became  a  merchant  in  luxury  goods  then,  in  1881, switched  to  publishing. He  founded  the  miscellaneous  magazine  Tit-Bits  from  the  proceeds  of  a  vegetarian  restaurant  in  Manchester. Competitions  increased  its  circulation  and  George  moved  production  to  London  in  1884. Both  Albert  Harmsworth  and  Arthur  Pearson  , founders  of  the  Daily  Mail  and  Daily  Express  respectively,  started  out  working  on  the  periodical. In  1873  he  founded  the  Westminster  Gazette.

George  remained  active  in  publishing  after  becoming  an  MP . In  1891  he  founded  The  Strand  which  published  the  first  Sherlock  Holmes  stories.  In  1897  he  launched  Country  Life.

George  was  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  Home  Rule. In  1893  he  revived  the  Westminster  Gazette  because  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  had  gone  over  to  the  Unionists.  

George  was  defeated  by  the  Conservatives  in  1895. He  was  created  a  baronet  of  Putney  and  paid  for  its  new  library  in  1899. He  came  back  into  Parliament  the  following  year  for  Swansea.

In  the  early  1900s  George  invested  in  the  early  film  projector  the  Mutoscope, one  of  a  number  of  poor  investments  which  drained  his  fortune.

George  stood  down  at  the  January  1910  election  by  which  time  he  was  suffering  from  diabetes  exacerbated  by  heavy  drinking..

George  spent  a  lot  of  time  in  Devon. He  built  the  cliff  railway  between  Lynton  and  Lynmouth.

George  initiated  the  Newnes   Trophy  for  transatlantic  chess  matches  between  Britain  and  the  USA.

He  died  in  June  1910  aged  59. His  son   Frank  was  MP  for  Bassetlaw. Though  long  since  absorbed  into  Time  Warner  books  are  still  published  under  the  Newnes  imprint.

1111 Arthur Kitching

Constituency : Maldon  1885-6

Arthur  took  over  from  George  Courtauld  at  Maldon.

Arthur  was  a  doctor's  son  from  Enfield. He  was  privately  educated  and  became  a  London  stockbroker. He  was  a  governor  of  Enfield  Grammar  School. He  stood  unsuccessfully  for  Malmesbury  in  1880.

Arthur  asked  one  parliamentary  question  about  possible  redundancies  at  the  Enfield  Small  Arms  Factory  in  1886.

Arthur  was  defeated  in  1886. He  stood  again  in  1892.

He  died  in  1919  aged  78.

1110 Sir Savile Crossley

Constituency  : Lowestoft  1885-92, Halifax 1900-06  ( from  1886  Liberal  Unionist )

Sir  Savile  took  the  new  seat  of  Lowestoft.

Savile  was  the  son  of  the  carpet  magnate  Francis  Crossley  and  inherited  his  baronetcy  in  1872.  He  was  educated  at Oxford  and  was  a  distinguished  rower. He  was  a  Whig  by  temperament. He  was  a  keen  hunter.

Savile's  maiden  sppech  supported  the  creation  of  a  Fishery  Board.

Savile  expected  defeat  in  1886  because,  he  said,  "there  are  large  numbers  of  fisherman  voters  who  hate  Chamberlain"  but  in  the  event  he  was  unopposed.

Savile  relinquished  his  seat  to the  Conservatives  in  1892  but  contested  a  by-election  at  Halifax  in  1897  which  he  lost  heavily. Nevertheless   he  was  elected  for  Halifax  in  1900  . He  became  Paymaster-General  in  Balfour's  government. He  was  defeated  in  1906.

In  1916  Savile  was  created  Baron  Somerleyton. He  became  a  government  whip  in  the  Lords  holding  this  office  until  1924.

He  died  in  1935  aged  77.

1109 Francis Otter

Constituency : Louth  1885-6

Francis  won  the  new seat  of  Louth.

Francis  was  educated  at  Gainsborough,  Rugby  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister. He  also  worked  as  a  private  tutor.

Francis'  only  parliamentary  contribution  was  to  ask  about  the  promised  reforms  in  Armenia  under  the  Treaty  of  Berlin . He  voted  against  Home  Rule.

Francis  felt  "too   ill  to  be  nominated  on  the  day  nominations  closed  in  1886   giving  the  Tories   a  walk  over  in  a  safe   Liberal  seat  .

He  died  in  1895  aged  64.

1108 Thomas Coote

Constituency : Huntingdon  1885-6

Thomas  scored  a  surprise  triumph  with  a  first  ever  Liberal  victory  in  Huntingdon.

Thomas was  the  son  of  a  local  coal  merchant. He  was  educated  privately. He  was  a  member  of  the  Reform  Club  and  then  the  National  Liberal  Club. He  was  either  a  Baptist  or  Congregationalist.

Thomas  wanted  the  Irish  Poor  Law  Guardians  Bill  of  1886  extended  to  England  as  it  was  "monstrous  to  prevent  the  labourers  from  having  the  right  of  representation  on  Boards  of  Guardians  merely  because  they  did  not  pay  the  rates  directly".

Thomas  was  defeated  in  1886.

He  died  in  1939  aged  89.