1194 Sir William Plowden

Constituency : Wolverhampton  West  1886-92

William  took  Wolverhampton  West  from  the  Tories.

William was  the  son  of  a  former  Conservative MP. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Haileybury  College. He  became  a  civil  servant  in  India  working  in  Bengal  and  Calcutta. He  was  the  son-in-law  of  his  colleague  Michael  Bass.

William  was  defeated  in  1892.

He  died  in  1915  aged  83.

1193 Philip Stanhope

Constituency : Wednesbury  1886-92, Burnley  1893-1900, Harborough  1904-06

Philip  took  Wednesbury  from  the  Tories.

Philip  was  a  younger  son  of  Earl  Stanhope.  Two  of  his  brothers  were  Conservative  politicians. He  joined  the  Royal  Navy  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant.

Philip  was  defeated  in  1892  but  came  back  in  at  Burnley  the  following  year. He  was  a  prominent  opponent  of  the  Boer  War , putting  down  an  amendment  criticising  the  government's  handling  of  the  Boer  negotiations  in  1899. That  probably  cost  him  his  seat  in  1900.

Philip  returned  once  more  for  Harborough  in  1904.

Philip  never  actually  spoke  in  the  Commons.

Philip  stood  down  in  1906  and  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Weardale.

Philip  continued  his  pacifist  activities, chairing  the  International  Peace  Conference  in  Leicester  in  1910  and  leading  the  British  group  in  the  Inter  Parliamentary  Union . He  was  the  IPU  President  from  1912  to  1922. He  was  also  president  of  the  Save  the  Children  Fund.

Philip  was  joint  president   with  Lord  Curzon  of  the  National  League  for  Opposing  Women's  Suffrage  and  was  attacked  with  a  dog  whip  at  Euston  in  1914  although  his  assailant  actually  mistook  him  for  Asquith.  

He  died  in  1923  aged  75.

`1192 Douglas Coghill

Constituency :  Newcastle -under-Lyme  1886-92  , Stoke-upon-Trent  1895-1900  ( LIberal  Unionist ) 1900-06   ( Conservative )

Douglas  unseated  William  Allen  to  take  Newcastle-under-Lyme  for  the  Liberal UNionists.

Douglas  came  from  Cheltenham.

Douglas  was  defeated  in  1892  when  Allen  reclaimed  the  seat.

Douglas  returned  for    Stoke   in  1895.

By  1900  Douglas  had  become  a  Conservative. He  was  defeated  in  1906  by  John  Ward by  over  3,000  votes.

He  died  in  1928   aged  83.

1191 Thomas Bolton

Constituency : Derbyshire  North  East  1886-1906

Thomas  took  over  from  Francis  Egerton  at  Derbyshire North  East.

Thomas  was  a  solicitor  from  Solihull . He  was  a  member  of  Windsor  Town  Council  and  a  director  of  the  Rhymney  Coal  and  Iron  Company.  

Derbyshire  North  East  was  a  mining  constituency  and  Thomas  enjoyed  good  relations  with  the  Derbyshire  Miners  Association. He  helped  them  set  up  an  office  in  Chesterfield free  of  charge. Thomas  presented  petitions  in  favour  of  the  Eight  Hours  Bill  in  1897.

Thomas  was  a  temperance  advocate  and  a  fierce  critic  of  the  Tories'  Licensing  Bill.

He  died  in  1906  aged  65.

1190 Joshua Rowntree

Constituency : Scarborough  1886-92

Joshua  took  Scarborough  from  the  Tories  against  the  trend.

Joshua   was  an  ardent  Quaker. He  was  educated  at  Bootham  School,  York. From  1872  to  1875  he  was  editor  of  the  Quaker  weekly  The  Friend.  He  was  a  former  Mayor  of  Scarborough.

In  1887  Joshua  spoke  out  against  Irish  coercion. He  seconded  a  pro- Home  Rule  motion  at  the  Newcastle  Conference.

Joshua  was  defeated  in  1892, again  against  the  trend, with  the  Tory  regaining  his  seat. After  that  Joshua  worked  to  bring  Quakerism  into  the  modern  world  , accommodating  scientific  discoveries  and  biblical  criticism. He  arranged  a  conference  school  in  Manchester  in  1895, a  summer  school  in  Scarborough  in  1897 and  established  a  study  centre  in  Birmingham  in  1903.

In  1900  Joshua's  business  premises  were  wrecked  for  his  anti-Boer  War  stance.

Joshua  wrote  tracts  against  the  opium  trade.

He  died  in  1915  aged  70.

1189 William McArthur

Constituency : Buckrose  1886, St  Austell  1887-1908

William  took  the  seat  of  Buckrose  from  the  Tories  by  one  vote  but  they  demanded  a  recount  and  on  a  scrutiny  the  Tory  was  declared  the  winner  by  11  votes.

William  was  the  son  of  Alexander  McArthur, still  MP  for  Leicester. He  was  born  in  Sydney  and  privately  educated. He  followed  his  father  into  colonial  commerce. He  was  a  partner  in  a  merchants  firm  and  director  of  the  Bank  of  Australia. He  was  a  Wesleyan  Methodist.

William  got  back  in  at  a  by-election  at  St  Austell  in  1887. He  was  a  junior  whip  under  Gladstone  and  Rosebery. He  was  acused  by  Harcourt  of  working  against  him  on  Rosebery's  behalf.

William  was  opposed  to  compulsory  vaccination.

William  was  unopposed  in  1900.  He  resigned  the  seat  in  1908.

He  died  in  Sydney  in  1923  aged  66.

1188 John Austin

Constituency : Osgoldcross  1886-1906

John  ejected  the  old  Palmerstonian,  Sir  John  Ramsden  who  had  gone  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  by  nearly  1,000  votes.

John  was  a  Catholic  though  he  generally  had  good  relations  with  his  Non-conformist  constituents

John's  maiden  speech  in  1887  was  against  coercion  in  Ireland. He  opposed  the  Early  Closing  Bill  in  1888.

John  was  created  a  baronet  in  1894.

In  June  1899  John  himself   left  the  party  after  the  Osgoldcross  Liberal  Association  passed  a  vote  of  no  confidence  in  him. He  had  been  at  odds  with  a  number  of  local  Liberals  for  his  votes  on  religious  questions. He  opposed  plans  to  allow  local  authorities  to  veto  liquor  sales  and  precipitated  a  by-election  on  this   issue   in  which  he  was  returned  as  an  "Independent  Liberal"  against  an  official  Liberal, the  future  MP  for  Lincoln  Charles  Roberts. He  saw  off  another  Liberal  in  1900. Both  of  these  victories  were  by  very  comfortable  majorities  suggesting  he  was  drawing  Conservative  support.

He  stood  down  in  1906  and  died  shortly  after  the  election  aged  82.

1187 John Gane

Constituency : Leeds  East  1886-95

John  took  Leeds  East  from  the  Tories.

John  was  a  barrister  from  Leeds. He  was  an  advanced  Liberal  and  gave  lectures  to  Mechanics  Institutes  around  Yorkshire.

John's  maiden speech  was  in  support  of  Parnell's  Tenants  Relief  Bill. He  had  a  fair  number  of  Irish  electors  in  his  constituency.

By  1890  he  was  suffering  from  ill  health.

He  died  in  1895, aged  57  on  board  a  ship  carrying  him  home  from  New  Zealand.

1186 Robert Verdin

Constituency : Northwich  1886-7 ( Liberal  Unionist )

Robert  unseated  John  Brunner, standing  as  a  Liberal  Unionist.

Robert  was  part  of  a  family  salt  manufacturing  business. He  was  privately  educated.In  1885  Robert  contested  the  Liberal  nomination  with  Brunner; if  he'd  won  it  he  would  have  been  standing  against  his  own  brother  William  for  the  Conservatives.  The  Home  Rule  split  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  go  toe  to  toe  with  Brunner.

Robert  gave  the  Victoria  Infirmary, Verdin  Baths  and  Verdin  Park  to  the  town  but  died  before  any  of  them  opened.

He  died  in  1887  aged  51. Brunner  reclaimed  the  seat  at  the  by-election.

1185 Charles Swann

Constituency : Manchester  North 1886 -1918

Charles  took  Manchester  North  from  the  Tories.

Charles  was  originally  Charles  Schwann  of  German  merchant  stock. His  father  conducted  his  business  from  Huddersfield. Charles  was  educated  at  Owens  College, Manchester  and  University  College  London. Charles  became  a  leading  Manchester  Liberal  holding  many  offices  in  the  Manchester Liberal  Federation.  He  was  president  of  the  Manchester  Reform Club  and  the  National  Reform  Union. He  contested  the  seat  in  1885.

Charles  was  an  "advanced  radical ".  He  opposed  coercion  in  his  maiden  speech  in  the  Queen's  Speech  debate. He  was  interested  in  India  and  attended  the  opening  of  the  Indian  National  Congress  in  1890.

Charles  was  created  a  baronet  in  1906. He  changed  his  surname  to  Swann  in  the  nick  of  time  in  1913.  He  gave  his  executive  notice  of  his  desire  to  retire  in  1914.

He  died  in  1929  aged  85.

1184 James Williamson

Constituency : Lancaster  1886-95

James  took  Lancaster  from  the  Tories.

James  was  the  son  of  an  oilcloth  and  linoleum  exporter. He  was  educated  at  Lancaster  Royal  Grammar  School . He  worked  in  the  family  business. He  helped  his  father  create  Williamson  Park  in  Lancaster. He  served  on  Lancaster  town  council  for  a  number  of  years.

James  asked  just  a  couple  of  questions  on  imperial  matters  during  his  time  in  Parliament.

James  stood  down  in  1895, the  Liberals  failing  to  hold  his  seat. He  became  Baron  Ashton  that  year.

In  1907  James  built  the  Ashton  Memorial  in  Lancaster  in  memory  of  his  second  wife. He  also  gave  Lancaster  its  town  hall  and  the  bronze  statue  of  Victoria  in  its  square.

He  died  in  1930  aged  87  by  which  time  he  was  a  reclusive  eccentric  living  in  Lytham  St  Annes.

1183 Walter McLaren

Constituency : Crewe  1886-95, 1910-12

Walter succeeded  George  Latham  at  Crewe.

Walter  was  the  son  of  the  Edinburgh  MP  Duncan McLaren. He  was  also  a  nephew  of  John  Bright. In  1885  he  stood  against  and  nearly  unseated  Robert  Finlay  at  Inverness  Burghs  as  an  independent  Liberal  put  up  by  the  Free  Church  Constitutional  Party

Despite  sitting  for  Crewe,  Walter's  maiden  speech  was  in  support  of  the  crofters'  grievances.

Walter  was  a  noted  supporter of  female  suffrage. His  wife  Eva  was  a keen  feminist. He  was  partly  responsible  for  some  women  being  included  in  the  local  government  franchise  in  1894.

Walter  was  defeated  in  1895  and  declined  to  stand  in  1900  when  James  Tomkinson  won  it  back  for  the  Liberals. When  Tomkinson  died  early  in  1910,  Walter  won  the  seat  at  the  by- election.

He  died  in  1912  aged  59.

1182 William Gully

Constituency  : Carlisle  1886-1905 ( from  1895  Speaker )

William  succeeded  Robert  Ferguson  at  Carlisle.

William  was  the  son  of  Sir  William  Gully, the  royal  physician   from  Malvern. He  was  educated  at  University  College  School, London  and  Cambridge where  he  was  President  of  the  Union. He  became  a  barrister. He  contested  Whitehaven  in  1880  and  1883.

William's  maiden  speech  in  1887  was  against  the  Irish  coercion  bill. In  1889  he  acted  for  the  Parnellite  MP  William  O  Brien  when  he  brought  a  slander  case  against  Salisbury  who  had  claimed  that  he  incited  murder  by  his  speeches. Salisbury  won  the  case.

In  1895  William  was  propelled  to  the  Speakership  after  a  protracted  row  between  Rosebery  and  Harcourt . The  Unionists  were  unhappy  at  his  selection  and  greeted  him  with  cries  of  "Bravo  Gully  ! ( referring  to  the  cause  celebre  death of    Charles  Bravo  with  which  his  father  had  been  innocently  connected ).  He  made  his  son  Edward  his  Secretary  but  Edward  was  kept  on  by  his  successor.  He  was  regarded  as  a  relatively  weak  Speaker.

In  1905  William  resigned  and  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Viscount  Selby.

He  died  in  1909  aged  74.

1181 James Craig

Constituency : Newcastle  1886-92

James  replaced  James  Cowen  at  Newcastle  after the latter's  high-minded  resignation  in  disgust at  party  politics.

James  was  an  export  broker  and  shipowner.He  was  a  successful  fund  raiser  for  the  party. He  was  adopted  because  his  fellow  MP  John  Morley  had  no  spare  cash  to  chip  into  local  party  funds.

In  1887  James  opposed  the  Merchant  Shipping  Act  ( 1854 ) Amendment   which  required  foreign  ships  to  use  English  pilots.

James  was  defeated  in  1892. In  1895  he beat  Arthur  Henderson  for  the  nomination .The  executive  of  the  local  Liberal  Association  had  selected  Henderson  but  a  meeting  of  the  whole  Association  went  for  James  instead. Both  he  and   Morley  were  defeated.

He  died  in  1902  aged  68. His  son  Herbert  was later  MP  for  Tynemouth.

1180 Thomas Ellis

Constituency : Merionethshire  1886-99

Thomas  was  elected  at  Merionethshire  after  Henry  Robertson  declined  to  stand  again  in  opposition  to  the  Home  Rule  policy.

Thomas, generally  known  as  T.E,.  was  the  son  of  a  tenant  farmer . He  was  educated  at  Aberystwyth  College  and  Oxford. He  worked  briefly  as  a  journalist  and  private  tutor  before  becoming  private  secretary  to  the  Cheshire  MP  Sir  John  Brunner.

Thomas  quickly  became  a  leading  radical  voice  on  Welsh  concerns. In  1890  he  called  for  a  legislative  assembly  for  Wales  and  lead  the  organisation , Cymru  Fydd,  seeking   to  achieve  it. He  was  a  close  friend  of  both  Lloyd  George and  Asquith . He  was  a  prominent  campaigner  for  Welsh  disestablishment.He  played  a  part  in  securing  the  Welsh  Intermediate  and  Technical  Education  Act  of  1889.

Thomas  sat  on  a  number  of  Welsh  education  bodies.

In  1890  Thomas  was  seriously  ill  after  catching  typhoid  fever  in  Egypt.

In  1892  Thomas  became  Deputy  Whip  in   Gladstone's  final  administration. He  was  promoted  to  Chief  Whip  by  Rosebery.

Thomas  was  a  keen  cyclist.

The  Liberal  historian  Roy  Douglas  describes  him  as  being  "of  quite  exceptional  calibre".

He  died  in  Cannes  in  1899  aged  40.

1179 William Rowlands

Constituency : Cardiganshire  1886-95

William  unseated  the  Liberal  Unionist  defector  David  Davies  by  9  votes. He  had  the  support  of  the  majority  of  Nonconformist  ministers  in  the  area.

William  was  educated  at  Oxford. He  became  headmaster  of  a  grammar  school  in  Pembrokeshire  and  a  curate  in  the  same  area  before  becoming  a  barrister. He  sought  the  candidacy  in  East  Glamorganshire  in  1885  but  lost  out  to  Alfred  Thomas.

William  spoke  against  the  Irish  coercion  bill  in  1887.

William  did  not  speak  Welsh  and  rarely  visited  the  area  but  was  comfortably  re-elected  in  1892  despite  his  Liberal  Unionist  opponent  having  the  support  of  Joseph  Chamberlain.

In  1893  William  was  appointed  Recorder  of  Swansea  which  meant  a  by-election  but  nobody  opposed  him.

William  stood  down  in  1895.

He  died  in  1906  aged  69.

1178 Thomas Lewis

Constituency : Anglesey  1886-95

Thomas  succeeded  Richard  Davies   who  had  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  declined  to  stand  again. He  won  by  296  votes  over  the  Conservatives.

Thomas  was   the  son  of  a  tenant  farmer  . He  was  educated  at  Llanfechell  Village  School  . He  was  a  Calvinistic  Methodist  flour  manufacturer. He  travelled  widely  to  Egypt, Palestine, America  and  India.

Thomas  was  a  popular  platform  speaker  in  North  Wales  but  rarely  made  his  presence  felt  in  the  Commons.

Thomas  became  chairman  of  Lloyd  George's  gold  mining  venture.

In  1892   Thomas  defeated  the  former  Beaumaris  MP  Morgan  Lloyd,  now  standing  for  the  Liberal  Unionists by  1,718  votes. He  declared  his  intention  not  to  stand  again  in 1894.

He  died  in  1897  aged  76.

1177 Thomas Russell

Constituency : South  Tyrone  1886 -1910  ( Liberal  Unionist  then  Independent  Unionist  from  1906 ) North  Tyrone  1911-18 )

Thomas  took  South  Tyrone  from  the  Nationalists  as  a  Liberal  Unionist.

Thomas  was  born  in  Scotland  but  moved  to  Ireland  when  he  was  eighteen  and  soon  became  known  as  a  temperance  agitator. He  ran  a  Temperance  Hotel  in  Dublin. In  1885  he  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  at  Preston  but  became  a  Liberal  Unionist  in  1886.

Between  1895  and  1900  he  served  as  Parliamentary  Secretary  to  the  Local  Government  Board.

As  the  century  turned  Thomas  became  more  critical  of  government  policy  in  Ireland. In  1900  he  founded  the  Farmers  and  Labourers  Union  to  demand  compulsory  land  purchase  in  Ulster. He  published  the  tract  "Ireland  and  the  Empire"  in  1901. He  was  a  representative  at  the  Dublin  "Land  Conference"  in  1903  which  led  to  the  passing  of  the  Land  Purchase  Act  of  1903. He  had  the  support  of  two   other  " independent  Unionists"  elected  in  by-elections  and  from  1904  they  were  known  as   "Russellite  Unionists".

Thomas  was  re-elected  as  an  Independent  Unionist  himself  in  1906  but  was  defeated  by  a  Liberal  Unionist  in  January  1910.

Thomas  was  elected  as  a  Liberal  at  a  by-election  at  North  Tyrone  in  1911.

Thomas  was  created  a  baronet  in  1917. He  retired  in  1918.

He  died  in  1920  aged  79.

1176 Alexander Brown

Constituency :  Hawick Burghs  1886-92

Alexander  unseated  the  Liberal  Unionist  defector  George  Trevelyan  by  30  votes.

Alexander  owned  wool  mills  in  the  Borders.

Alexander  never  spoke  in  Parliament  and  stood  down  in  1892.

He  died  in  1936  aged  85.

1175 Walter Thorburn

Constituency : Peeblesshire  and  Selkirkshire  1886-1906 ( Liberal Unionist )

Walter  was  a  new  Liberal  Unionist , having  unseated  Sir  Charles  Tennant  at  Peeblesshire.

Walter  was  a  local  mill owner. He  was  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.

Walter  called  for  more  Liberal  Unionist  clubs  and  reading  rooms  for  working  men.

Walter  was  knighted  in  1900.

He  died  in  1908  aged  66.

1174 Robert Wallace

Constituency : Edinburgh  East 1886-99

Robert  removed  the  Liberal  Unionist  defector  George  Goschen  at  Edinburgh  East  with  a  large  majority.

Robert  was  the  son  of  a  gardener from  Fife. He  was  educated at  the  Geddes  Institution  and  St Andrews  University  and  became  a  Professor  of  Divinity  at  Glasgow  University. He  became  a  minister  at  Old  Greyfriars Church, Edinburgh   but  his  attempts  at  modernisation  were  resisted  and  he  ended  up  quitting  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  1876 . That  year  he  became  editor  of  The  Scotsman.  In  1883  he  changed  tack  again  and  became  a  barrister.

Robert  was a  skilled  orator  but  had  a  tendency  to go  on  too  long.

Robert  made  a  noted  speech  in  support  of  the  Second  Home  Rule  Bill.

Robert's  last  speech  was  an  objection  to  a  grant  of  money  to  Lord  Kitchener  for  taking Omdurman  in  1899. He  suffered  a  stroke  immediately afterwards  and  died  at  Westminster  Hospital.

He  died  in  1899  aged  67.

1173 William McEwan

Constituency : Edinburgh  Central  1886-1900

William  unseated  the  Liberal  Unionist  defector  John  Wilson  at  Edinburgh  Central.

William  was  the  son  of  a  ship-owner  from  Alloa. He  was  educated  at  Alloa   Academy. He  worked  for  a  coal  company  then  as a  bookkeeper  for  a  spinning  firm  near  Huddersfield. In  the  1850s  he  was  taken  into  his  uncles'  brewing  firm  then  in  1856  he  was  loaned  the  money  to  start  his  own  Fountain  Brewery.  This  became  very  profitable  with  McEwan's  Scottish  Ale  a  big-seller. Ironically  William  himself  was  teetotal

William's  contributions  to  Parliament  were  restricted  to  constituency  matters  although  the  New  York  Times  in  1894  reported  that  he  exerted  " a  tremendous  personal  influence  in  the  lobby"  partly  through  giving  free  lunches  at  his  London  residence. He  was  a  close  friend  of  Rosebery  who  held  shares  in  his  brewery.

William  was  unopposed  in  1895.

William  stood  down  in  1900  but  declined  a  peerage  in  1907  saying  "I  would  rather  be  first  in  my  own  order, than  be  at  the  tail  end  of  another  .

William  was  a  philanthropist  who  funded  the  building  of  the  McEwan  Hall  at  Edinburgh  University. He  gave  paintings  to  the  National  Gallery  of  Scotland.

As  you  can  see  from  the  photo  William  had  a  somewhat  unusual  hairstyle. The  Glasgow  Evening  News  in  1890  described  him  as  "one  of  the  most  interesting  men  in  the  House  of  Commons.Widely  read  and  an  acute  thinker, no  one  would  guess  that  this  quiet, low-voiced  man  , with  the  delicate  scholar's  face, had  been  the  architect  of  one  of  the  largest  fortunes  of  his  time".

William  impregnated  his  landlady  and  paid  one  of  his  cellar men  to  go  through  a  sham  marriage  to  legitimise  the  child. He  later  married  the  woman  Helen  Anderson  and  his  "stepdaughter"  Margaret  Greville  was  his  heir.

He  died  in  1913  aged  85.

1172 Henry Anstruther

Constituency : St  Andrews  Burghs  1886-1903  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Henry  took  over  from  his  father  Sir  Robert  at  St  Andrews  Burghs  defeating  Thomas  Brassey who'd  moved  up  from  Hastings  for  the  Gladstonians.

Henry  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Edinburgh  University. He  became  a  Scottish  advocate.

Henry  joined  the  government  as  a  whip  in  1895  and  held  the  position  until  he  stood  down  in  1903  to  represent  the  government  in  the  Suez  Canal  Company.  His  departure  weakened  the  Free  Trade  faction in  the  Liberal  Unionist  party  opposed  to  Chamberlain's  Tariff  Reform.   He  was  known  for  his  discretion  and  liked  on  both  sides  of  the  House  where  he  had  the  nickname  "Pincher ".He  was  an  alderman  on  London County  Council from  1905  to  1910. He  was  on  the  organising  Council  of  the  Liberal  Unionist  Association.

Henry  married  Lord  Sudeley's  daughter  but  from  1912  onwards  they  began  to  lead  several  times.

He  died  in  1926  aged  65  when  his  carriage  toppled  over  because  his  horse  had  been  frightened  by  a  motorbus..  His  daughter  was  the  writer  Jan  Struther.  She  wrote  that  he  would  have  been  happier  being  a  carpenter.

1171 Herbert Asquith

Constituency : East  Fife  1886-18, Paisley  1920-24

There's  no  doubting  who  the  most  important  figure  elected  in  1886  was. The  old  cliche  that  all  political  careers  end  in  failure  was  never  more  true  than  in  Herbert's  case  and  his  miserable  last  decade  has  tended  to  obscure  what  an  outstanding  Prime  Minister  he  actually  was.

Herbert  removed  the  Liberal  Unionist  defector  John  Kinnear  at  East  Fife  in  a  tight  contest.

Herbert  was  the  son  of  a  Congregationalist  wool  merchant  from  Yorkshire. His  father  died  when  he  was  10  and  he  lived  with  uncles  in  Huddersfield  and  London. He  attended  City  of  London  School  and  won  a  scholarship  to  Balliol  College, Oxford. He  was  president  of  the  Oxford  Union  and  became  a  barrister. He  soon  became  prosperous. In  1877  he  married  a  doctor's  daughter  named  Helen  who  died  of  typhoid  fever  in  1891  having  given  birth  to  four  of  his  children..

Herbert's  talents  were  quickly  noted  in  Parliament. Gladstone  invited  hi  to  dinner  after  his  maiden  speech .In  1892,  Gladstone  made  him  Home  Secretary  despite  his  never  having  held  office  before.   In  1894  he  married  Margot, daughter  of  his  fellow  Liberal  MP  Charles  Tennant.

Herbert  was  touted  for  party  leader  in  1898  but  declined  to  stand  preferring  to  earn  more  money  as  a  barrister.  The  new  leader, Campbell-Bannerman  wanted  him  in significant  debates  because  of  his  command  of  facts  and   debating  style and  would  say  "Send  for  the  sledgehammer !"  He  was  effectively  used  as  a  public  speaker  against  Chamberlain's  Tariff  Reform  campaign.

Herbert  was  part  of  the  so-called  Relugas  Compact  against  Campbell-Bannerman  but  instead  accepted  the  offer  of  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  and  effective  deputy  Prime  Minister.
As  Chancellor  he  moved  the  first  steps  towards  old  age  pensions, with  small  means-tested  pensions  for  those  over  70.

When  Campbell-Bannerman  had  to  resign  Herbert  was  his  undisputed  successor. He  promoted  Lloyd  George  to  succeed  him  and  Winston  Churchill  to  replace  the  Welshman  at  the  Board  of  Trade. He  also  sacked  a number  of  peers  who  complained  that  he  had  not  been  gentlemanly  about  it.  His  Cabinet  is  generally  agreed  to  have  been  one  of  the  most  distinguished  that  was  ever  assembled  and  his  management  of  such  a  group  of  disparate  talents  a  major  feather  in  his  cap.

Herbert  soon  ran  into  the  problem  that  had  bedevilled  Campbell-Bannerman, the  large  Unionist  majority  in  the  House  of  Lords  which  thought  nothing  of  wrecking  or  emasculating  bills  passed  in  the  Commons  where  they  were  now  so  weak. After  they'd  mauled  a  licensing  bill  and  two  Scottish  bills   Herbert  and  Lloyd  George  decided  to  test  them  with  a  provocative  Finance  Bill  which  the  Lords  traditionally  didn't  oppose.

Herbert  gave  fair  warning  of  this  in  a  speech  in  December  1908  and  Lloyd  George's  Budget  of  1909  introduced  a  major  expansion  of  death  duties and  a  tax  on  undeveloped  land  to  pay  for  expansion  of  the  social  welfare  programme. Most  Liberals  got  behind  it  although  Rosebery  denounced  it  as  "inquisitorial, tyrannical  and  Socialistic". The  Lords, led  by  Lansdowne  duly  rejected  it  as  lacking  an  electoral  mandate  and  Herbert  got  a  dissolution  of  Parliament  after  a  motion  denouncing  the  Lords' action  as  unconstitutional  was  passed  by  the  Commons.

The  January  1910  election  returned  almost  equal  numbers  of  Liberals  and  Tories  but  Herbert  was  able  to  continue  with  the  support  of  Labour  and  Irish  Nationalists, neither  of  whom  were  going  to  defend  the  Lords'  privileges. There  was  no  question  of  the  budget  being  rejected  now  but  the  larger  issue  of  the  Lords  veto  became  the  uppermost  political  question. Herbert  was  obliged  to  admit  that  he  had  not  asked  Edward  VII  to  agree  to  create  new  Liberal  peers  which  many  had  assumed  he  had. The  Cabinet  decided  to  press  ahead  with  Campbell-Bannerman's  plan  to  remove  the  veto  on  money  bills  and  reduce  it  to  a  three  year  delaying  power  on  other  legislation. Herbert  hinted  during  the  debate  that  he  would  approach  the  king  on  the  question  of  peers.

This  was  scuppered  by  Edward's  death  in  May  1910. Herbert  felt  obliged  to  hold  cross  party  talks  to  avoid  putting  too  much  pressure  on  the  new  monarch. These  foundered  on  the  Unionists'    realisation  that  the  Lords  would  not  be  able  to  block  Home  Rule  indefinitely   under  the  Liberal  proposals. When  the  Parliament  Bill  was  rejected  in  November  Herbert  asked   George  V  for  both  a  dissolution  and  a  commitment  to  create  enough  Liberal  peers  to  pass  the  Parliament  Act. To  the  king's  protests  he  answered  that  the  government  would  have  to  resign  if  this  was  refused. The  king  gave  way.

The  ensuing  election  produced  almost  exactly  the  same  result  keeping  Herbert  firmly  in  charge. The  Parliament  Bill  went  through  the  Commons  but  was  heavily  amended  in  the  Lords. Herbert  went  to  the  King  who  asked  that  his  pledge  be  made  public  so  that  the  Lords  could  reconsider  their  opposition.  After  a  fierce  debate  the  Parliament  Act  was  confirmed  by  a  small  majority  and  Herbert  had  irrevocably  reduced  the  power  of  the  Lords.

With  the  Lords' resistance  broken,  the  Liberals  could  press  on  with  their  social  agenda  and  old  age  pensions, unemployment  insurance  and  labour  exchanges  were  all  introduced  on  Herbert's  watch. However  the  government  faced  major  challenges.  They  had  to  deal  with  the  suffragettes'  campaign  for  female  suffrage  to  which  Herbert  was  personally  opposed . This  was  not  in  tune  with  the  majority  of  his  party  but  he  could  not  be  convinced  that  it  would  improve  the  system  of  government  and  the  violence  of  the  campaign  hardened  his  resistance  to  it. He  did  eventually  signal  his  support  for  it  in  1917  but  is  still  criticised  for  his  previous  opposition.  The  years  1912 to  1914  also  saw  major  industrial  unrest  although  , despite  the  apprehensions  of  many, it  never  crystallised  into  a  direct  challenge  to  the  government.

The  major  challenge  though  came  over  Ireland. As he  came  from  the  imperialist  wing  of  the  party  Herbert  had  no  great  enthusiasm  for  Home  Rule  and  absented  himself  from  the  cabinet  committee   that  drew  up  the  third  Home  Rule  Bill  in  1912. However  he  was  fully  aware  that  he  could  not  alienate  the  Nationalists  when  they  formed  an  important  part  of  his  parliamentary  majority. All  too  aware  that  the  Bill  could  only  be  delayed  for  three  years  the  Unionists  campaigned  on  the  issue  of  Ulster  and  threatened  to  support  extra-parliamentary  action  if  it  were  not  excluded  from  the  legislation. Civil  war  in  Ireland  seemed  about  to  break  out  when  the  First  World  War  erupted  and  the  Nationalist  leader  John  Redmond  accepted  the  need   to  delay  its  implementation.

The  War  could  not  have  gone  much  worse  for  Herbert.  That  wasn't  immediately  apparent  as  the  Cabinet  members  who  resigned   on  its  outbreak   were  dead  wood  anyway    but  by  the end  of  the  year  it  was  clear  that  the  War  was  creating  great  strains  in  the  party. The  general  European  war  was  exactly  what  Free  Trade  was  supposed  to  prevent  and  its  existence  and  the  methods  needed  to  wage  it  drove  great  wedges  between  former  colleagues.

In  May  1915  a  twin  crisis  caused  by  a  munitions  shortage  and  the  costly  failure  of   the  Gallipoli  campaign   obliged   Herbert  to  take  the  Unionists  into  his  government  , sacrificing  Haldane  and  Churchill  as  the  price  but  keeping  most  of  the  important  offices  in  Liberal  hands. Herbert  also  had  a  personal  crisis  to  deal  with  that  year   when  a  young  woman  Venetia  Stanley  who  may  or  may  not  have  been  his  mistress  but  was  certainly  his  greatest  confidante  married  his  colleague  Edwin  Montagu  whom  he  had  previously  disparaged  as  "the  Assyrian". This  increased  his  fondness  for  drink  and  self-indulgence  leading  to  a  lethargy  that  ill-suited  a  wartime  premier.

Things  did  not  get  easier. He  lost  an  important  Liberal  colleague  John  Simon  over  conscription. He  was  widely  criticised  for  indecision  over  the  Easter  Rising  particularly  in  not  halting  the  counter-productive  executions  that  followed. He  then  suffered  a  terrible  personal  blow when  his  brilliant  son  Raymond  became  the  most  prominent   casualty  at  the  Battle  of  the  Somme.

While  he  was  reeling  from   this , Lloyd  George  who  was  prosecuting  the  war  with  every  ounce  of  his  formidable  energy  and  fast  picking  up  Unionist  admirers  as  a  result  started  campaigning  for  a  smaller  more  effective  committee  to  manage  the  war  with  him  as  chair. Herbert  agreed  at  first  as  long  as  the  committee  reported  to  him  but  when  an  article  in  The  Times   presented  this  as  a  sidelining  of  himself  he  said  he  must  chair  it  personally. He  believed  that  Lloyd  George  was  encouraging  some  of  the  press  attacks  on  him.

Lloyd  George  resigned  as  did  Balfour  despite  Herbert's  previous  support  for  him  against  criticism. With  the  Conservatives  now  less  willing  to  support  him   Herbert   and  the  majority  of  the  Liberal  Cabinet  resigned , apparently  believing  that  no  one  could  form  a  government  without  him. The  King  could  not  persuade  him  to  serve  under  Bonar  Law  or  Balfour. Bonar  Law  declined  to  form  a  government  without  him. Balfour  then  agreed  to  become  Foreign  Secretary  if  Lloyd  George  formed  a  government  ensuring   the  support  of  a significant  section  of   both  parties. Labour  also  endorsed  this  arrangement. Herbert  had  over-played  his  hand.

Herbert  and  most  of  the  Liberal  ministers  refused  to  join  the  government  and  instead  offered  "general  support"  from  the  backbenches  but  soon  found  this  a  very  difficult  position  to  occupy.  Over  a  third  of  his  party's  MPs   were  backing  Lloyd  George  to  see  the  war  through  to  a  successful  conclusion  and  the  pacifist  wing  were  thoroughly  disgusted  with  him.  He  challenged  Lloyd  George  over  the  Supreme War  Council  and  the  removal  of  General  Robertson  but  found  that  Lloyd  George's  greatest  political  card  was  the  thought  of  himself  returning  to  power.   Herbert's  biggest  challenge  came  in  the  Maurice  debate  over  an  accusation  that  Lloyd  George  was  withholding  troops  from  the  front. He  led  the  attack  in  the  Commons   but  then  faltered, apparently  losing  the  nerve  to  bring  down  the  government. Shortly  afterwards  he  was  offered  the  job  of  Lord  Chancellor  but  refused  to  go  to  the  Lords.

In  the  1918  General  Election  Lloyd  George  and  Bonar  Law  didn't  want  him  opposed  but  the  local  Conservative  association, seeing  an  opportunity  to  bring  down  their  old  enemy, put  up  a  candidate   who  spectacularly  defeated  him.  Lloyd  George  declined  his  overtures  to  go  to  the  Paris  Peace  Conference. Herbert  had  all  the  blame  for  Britain's  entry  into  the  war  and  none  of  the  kudos  for  winning  it.

In  1920  Herbert  returned  to  Parliament  in  a  by-election  at  Paisley ( on  the  death  of  one  of  the  few  "Asquithian "  MPs ) .  This  was  despite  a  public  letter  by  a  number of  former  Liberal  MPs  who'd  gone  over  to  Labour  denouncing  him .He  became  Leader  of  the  feeble  Liberal  rump  and  attempted  to  broaden  the  Opposition  in  talks  with  the  dissident  Tory  Robert  Cecil  but  the  latter  saw  him  as  damaged  goods  and  wanted  Grey  to  take  over. Even  staunch  opponents  of  Lloyd  George  within  the  Liberal  party  such  as  Herbert  Gladstone privately  criticised  him  as  old  and  out  of  touch. C P  Scott  described  him  as  "a  great  boulder  blocking  the  way". Llewellyn  Williams  recorded  that  he  hardly  contributed  at  all  to  the  talk  at  a  Bar  dinner.

Still  Herbert  hoped  for  better  times. He  presided  over  a  modest  revival  of  Liberal  fortunes  at  the  1922  election   then  accepted  the  submission  of  Lloyd  George  and  his  supporters  to wage  a  unified  campaign   against  Baldwin's  call  for  protectionism  in  1923. In  the  closest  thing  to  a  three  way  split  of  seats  the  UK  system  has  ever  produced,  the  Liberals  came  a  good  third .  Baldwin  refused  to  abandon  Protection  to  avoid  having  to  do  any  sort  of  deal  with  Lloyd  George  so  Herbert  had  to  decide  what  to  do  about  Labour.

Herbert   made  his  final  miscalculation. He  let  Labour  take  office  as  a  minority  government  rather  than   negotiate  a  coalition. He  seems  to  have  thought  McDonald  would  recognise  his  own  incompetence  and  call  the  Liberals  in  to  the  government  before  long  when  he  could  dictate  terms  and  the  Liberals  would  be  "masters  of  the  situation". He  didn't  realise  that  McDonald  was  less  bothered  about  staying  in  government  than  destroying  the  party  that  had  rejected  him  as  a  candidate. He  simply  dared  the  Liberals  to  turf  him  out  and  fight  another  election  in  which  Labour  would  contest  all  their  seats. This  happened  nine  months  later  over  the  Campbell  affair.

In  the  1924  election  the  Liberals  were  trashed  and  Herbert  once  again  suffered  a  crushing  personal  defeat   losing  Paisley  by  2,228 votes. The  Conservatives  chose  not  to  oppose  him  so  the  maverick  young  Labour  candidate  should  have  had  no  chance  but  it  seems  as  if  the  desire  to  be  rid  of  a  redundant  old  relic  transcended  normal  political  loyalties. The  Labour  man  seemed  more  upset  about  it  than  Herbert  himself  and  was  in  floods  of  tears  at  the  result.

There  was  talk  of  finding  Herbert  a  seat  in  the  rural  fastnesses  of  Wales  but  he  rejected  the  idea  of  being  Lloyd  George's  neighbour  outright. Instead  he  agreed  to  go  to  the  Lords  as  Earl  of  Oxford  and  Asquith. Even  this  caused  controversy  as  his  title  was  challenged  by  the  historic  De  Vere  family  as  too  close  to  their  own  designation.  That  same  year  he  lost  out  for  the  Chancellorship  of  his  beloved  Oxford.Tension  between  his  supporters  and  those  of  Lloyd  George  soon  re-surfaced  and  the  two  men  fell  out   again  over  the  General  Strike. Herbert  proposed  to  discipline  him  over  his  failure  to  support  the  party  line - an  absurdity  given  the  Liberals'  parlous  position   but  his  move  was  abruptly  curtailed by  a  severe  stroke  which  forced  his  final  retirement  from  public  life.

Herbert  was  generally  genial  and  in  control  of  himself  despite  his  nickname  of  "Squiffy". He  had  a  reputation  for  being  a  nuisance  towards  young  women  but  seems  to  have  known  when  to  stop  his  advances.

He  died  two  years  later  aged  75 . He  left  a  fairly  modest  sum  having  spent  most  of  his  earnings  on  socialising.            

      

  

1170 James Caldwell

Constituency : Glasgow  St  Rollox  1886-92  ( Liberal  Unionist  1886-90 ) , Mid  Lanarkshire  1894-1910

James  was  another  new  Liberal  Unionist  MP . The  previous  Liberal   MP,  John  McCulloch  stood  down  and  James  triumphed  over  a  Peter  MacLiver  by  119  votes.

James  was  both  a  lawyer  and  a  wealthy  calico  merchant.

James's  maiden  speech  emphasised  that  fair  rents  fixed  by  the  1881  Irish  Land  Act  of  1881  had  to  be  paid. He  tried  to  set  an  agenda  on  Highland  land  reform  for  the  Liberal  Unionist  party.

In  1890  James  went  over  to  the  Gladstonians  and  stood  for  them  in  Glasgow  Tradeston  in  1892. He  was  narrowly  defeated  due  to  the  presence  of  a  Labour  candidate.

James  re-entered  Parliament  at  a  by-election  in  1894  at  Mid -Lanarkshire. He  held  the  seat  until  he  stood  down  before  the  January  1910  election.

In  1904  James  sat  on  a  Committee  considering  copyright  issues  and  spoke  up  for  the  general  public's  interest  in  hearing  music ; "copyright  is  not  such  an  absolute  right  of  property  as  is  claimed  but  is  a  "liberty"  or  privilege  , conferred  by  Parliament  with  the  view  of  encouraging  music  in  the  general  community". The  rest  of  the  committee  was  more  minded   to  side  with  the  music  publishers.  He  felt  that  the  spread  of  piracy  was  due  to  the  enormous  gap  between  the  prices  charged  to  the  public  and  the  cost  of  production.

From  1906  to  1910  James  was  a  Deputy  Speaker.

He  died  in  1925  aged  86.

1169 Andrew Provand

Constituency : Glasgow Blackfriars  1886-1900

Andrew  defeated  the  Liberal  Unionist  defector  Mitchell  Henry  by  nearly  1,000  votes  at  Glasgow  Blackfriars.

Andrew  held  the  seat  until  1900  when  he  lost  out  to  Bonar  Law  in  a  campaign  dominated  by  the  Boer  War . He  stood again  in  1906  but came  third  with  Labour's George  Barnes taking  the  seat.

Andrew  spoke  up  for  the  crofters in  the  Queen's  Speech  debate  in  1887. He  was  a  supporter  of  bimetallism  and  Henry  George's  ideas  on  land  taxation.  

He  died  in  1915 aged  76.

1168 Robert Cunninghame-Graham

Constituency : Lanarkshire  North  West  1886-92 ( from  1888  Scottish  Labour  Party )

Robert  took  Lanarkshire  North  West  from  the  Tories. He  won  by  32  votes.

Robert  was  the  son  of  a  major  and  himself  served  as  a  cornet in  the  Scots  Greys.  He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  then in  Brussels. He  then  emigrated  to  Argentina  where  his  family    had  a   cattle  ranch. He  then  had  spells  in  Morocco, Spain , Texas  and  Mexico.  He  returned  to  England  in  1883  and  became  a  convert  to  socialism. Despite  his  extreme  radical  views  on  land  nationalisation  he  was  adopted  as  a  Liberal  candidate  for  Lanarkshire  North  West  in  1885  but  was  defeated.

Robert  was  twice  suspended  from the  Commons  , in  1887  for  a  " disrespectful   reference"  to  the  Lords  and  then  for  using  the  word  "damn"  in  a  speech. He  complained  about  the  use  of  police  to  break  up  political  meetings. In  November  1887  he  was  arrested, beaten  up  and  sentenced  to  six  weeks  in  prison  for  involvement  in  the  "Bloody  Sunday"  protest  meeting  in  Trafalgar   Square.  He  was  suspended  again  in  1888  for  a  remark  during  a  debate  about  the  rights  of  chain  makers. He  supported  the  match  girls  strike  and  the  1889  Dockers  Strike. He  attended  the  Second  International  in  Paris  in  1889  and  was  expelled  from  France  for  sedition  in  1890.  He  was  trying  to  get  legislation  on  the  eight  hour  day  passed  before  Parliament  dissolved  in  1892.

Robert  was  also  a  Scottish  nationalist  and  helped  establish  the  Scottish  Home  Rule  Association  in  1886. In  1888  the  SHRA  passed  his  motion  for  a  Scottish  parliament  "to  do  justice  to  their  crofters  and  keep  them  at  home , to  pass  an  Eight  Hours  Bill  for  their  miners, to  settle  the  liquor  laws, and  to  nationalise  the  land".

Later  that  year  Robert  was  disgusted  by  the  failure  of  the  Liberals  to  get  behind  his  friend  Keir  Hardie  at  the  Mid  Lanarkshire  by-election  and  with  him  established  the  Scottish  Labour  Party  although  dual  membership  was  not  prohibited .

Robert  contested  Glasgow  Camlachie  under  his  new  colours  in  1892 but  was  defeated. He  continued  to  support  Hardie   in  founding  the  ILP  and  helped  in  his  successful  campaign  at  West  Ham.

Although  a  pacifist  by  nature  Robert  travelled  to  Argentina  during  the  First  World  War  to  buy  horses  for  the  war  effort.

In  1928  Robert  helped  found  the  National  Party  of  Scotland   and  was  the  first  president  in  1934.

Robert  was  a  prolific  writer  of   fiction,non-fiction  and  poetry.  He  helped  Conrad's  research  for  Nostromo   and  had  many  other  literary  friends   such  as  Shaw  and  Chesterton . He  was  also  an  art  patron  who  was  painted  many  times  himself.  

He  died  in  Buenos  Aires  in  1936  aged  83.

1167 Greville Vernon

Constituency  : Ayrshire  South  1886-92 ( Liberal  Unionist )

Greville  was  one  of  the  new   Liberal  Unionists  defeating  the  Gladstonian  MP  Eugene  Wason  by  5  votes.

Greville  was  the  son  of  Baron  Lyvedon , a  former  Cabinet  minister  in  Palmerston's  first  ministry.

Greville  asked  one  parliamentary  question  about  fishing  rights.

Greville   stepped  down  in  1892. Wason  regained  the  seat  in  another  tight  contest.

He  died  in  1909  aged  73.

1166 Charles Anderson

Constituency : Elginshire  and  Nairnshire  1886-9

Charles  easily  removed  the  Liberal  Unionist  defector  George  McPherson-Grant  at  Elginshire  and  Nairnshire. He  had  fought  the  seat  in  1885  as  an  Independent  Liberal  and  come  third  in  a  tight  three-way  contest.

Charles  was  a  barrister, originally  from  Yorkshire. He  was privately  educated. He  had  interests  in  railway  companies.

Charles  had  many  crofters  in  his  constituency  and  supported  their  cause.

He  died  during a  trip  to  South  Africa  in  1889  aged  51.

1165 Angus Sutherland

Constituency : Sutherland  1886-94

The  1886  General  Election  changed  the  political  scene  for  the  next  20  years. Gladstone  had  overestimated  the  appeal  of  Home  Rule  and  called  the  election  too  early. Salisbury  managed to  construct  an  electoral  pact  with  Hartington  which  saw  most  of  the  Liberal Unionists  get  home, some  of  them  unopposed. There  were  also  a  few new  Liberal  Unionists,  including  two  in  Ireland,  making  77  in  total. Gladstone's  Liberals  held  up  well  in  Wales and  Northern  England  ( apart  from  Hartington's  Lancashire )  but  were  shredded  from  the Midlands  down. The  Conservatives  were  20  seats  short  of  an  overall  majority  but  were  kept  in  power  by  the  Liberal  Unionists. Salisbury  offered  Hartington  the  chance  to  be  Prime  Minister  but  he  turned  it  down  and  continued  to  sit  with  Gladstone  and  the  other  Liberals,  clearly  hoping  that  Gladstone  would  retire  and  the  party  re-unify.

Angus  took  over  from  Cromartie  Leveson-Gower  at  Sutherland.He  had  challenged  the  latter  in  1885  as  a  Crofters  Party  candidate  but  failed  to  unseat  him. Leveson-Gower  chose  not  to  stand  in  1886  and  Angus  had  an  easy  victory  over  a  Liberal  Unionist  candidate.

Angus  was  the  son  of  an  evicted  crofter. He  was  educated  at  the  parish  school  and  Glasgow  University. He  became  a  teacher. In  1882  he  founded  the  Highland  Land  League  to  press  the  crofters'  cause.

Angus's  maiden  speech  was  on  the  inadequacy  of  the  Crofters  Act.

Angus  resigned  his  seat  in  1894  to  become Chairman  of  the  Fishery  Board.

He  died  in  1922  aged  73. His  nephew  William  was  also  a  Liberal  MP.