Constituency : Harborough 1891-1904, 1910-16
John took Harborough from the Tories. The local Tories controlled the meeting halls so he held his rallies under canvas, what he called the "free speech tent" .
John was educated at King's School Gloucester. He was partner in a civil engineering firm that mainly did railway contracts. He lived in Harborough and provided the town with a cricket ground and orphanage for the children of navvies who were killed on his projects. He acquired the nickname "Paddy".
John's health was poor following a hunting accident , prompting his temporary retirement in 1904.
John championed the interests of agricultural labourers particularly in regard to education and allotments.
When his health permitted John was a keen cricketer. He was also a pioneer of pigeon racing and wrote a handbook on it.
In 1895 John campaigned against the "Penny Dreadful" sensationalist literature of a "grossly demoralising and corrupting character".
He died in 1925 aged 80.
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