1586 William Lever

Constituency  : Wirral  1906-10

William  took  Wirral  from  the  Tories. He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  industrialists  of  the  early  twentieth  century  especially  around  my  neck  of  the  woods.

William  was  a  grocer's  son  from  Bolton. He  was  educated  privately  in  Bolton  and  started  work  in  his  father's  store. He  was  a  Congregationalist. In  1879  he  took  over a  failing  grocery  business  in  Wigan. William  made  his  fortune  by  selling  quality  soap  under  the  "Sunlight  "  brand. He  thought  the  business  would  be  better  off  manufacturing  its  own  product  which  did  so  well  that  he  had  to  build  on  a  new  site  near  Birkenhead  in  1887  to  fulfil  his  orders. He  built  the  model  village  of  Port  Sunlight  alongside  the  works  to  house  his  workers  although  some  felt  the  rules  were  a  bit  intrusive. William  was  a  staunch  teetotaller  and  thought  the  pub, The  Bridge, should  be a  temperance  establishment; nevertheless  he  yielded  to  a  referendum  result  that  it  should  sell  beer.  Lever  Brothers  expanded  to  make  him  a  millionaire  with  works  all  over  the  world. It  became  the  first  modern  multinational.

Shortly  after  his  election  William  chaired  a  meeting   of  soap  manufacturers  which  formed  the  Soap  Trust, a  cartel  to  meet  the  challenge  of  rising  raw  material  costs, A  press  campaign  against  it  by  Lord  Northcliffe  eventually  broke  it  up  by  urging  a  consumer  boycott.  William  sued  Associated  Newspapers  Limited  for  libel. William  won  the  case  and  got  nearly  £100,000  in  damages  which  he  donated  to  Liverpool  University.

William  introduced  the  Old  Age  Pensions  Bill  in  1906. He  was  a  leading  part donor  who  supported  graduated  taxation  and  state  intervention. He  also  supported  payment  of  MPs  and  the  eight  hour  day. His  last  speech  in  the  Commons  gave  strog  support  to  the  People's  Budget.

William  stood  down  in   January  1910  and  was  created  a  baronet  the  following  year.

In  1911  William  bought  palm  oil  plantations  in  the  Belgian  Congo. He  has  been  accused  of  turning  a  blind  eye  to  the  terrible  working  conditions  there.

In  1917  William  was  upgraded  to  Baron  Leverhulme.

After  World  War  One  he  bought  the  Isle  of  Lewis  and  a  large  part  of  Harris  in  order  to  develop  the  fishing  industry  there  but  ran  into  opposition  from  the  crofters  and  the  scheme  was  largely  a  failure.

In  1919  William  made  his  last  speech  to  the  Lords,  urging  a  more  relaxed  view  of  labour  unrest.

In  1922  William  was  upgraded  to  a  viscount.

William  was  a  generous  benefactor  to  his  home  town  creating  a  substantial  park. He  also  bequeathed  an  estate  northwest  of  the  town  near  Rivington  where  he  had  indulged  his  architectural  and  botanical  fantasies. For  many  years  after  his  death  the  gardens  were  allowed  to  run  wild  making  it  a  fascinating  area  to  explore  but  it  has  been  tidied  up  in  recent  years. He  was  also  responsible  for  preserving  the  home  of  Samuel Crompton  as  a  museum.

William  was  a  keen  art  collector  and  created  the  Lady  Lever Art  Gallery.

He  died  of  pneumonia   after  returning  from  Africa  in  1925  aged  73.