Constituency : Huddersfield 1906-18
Arthur took over from James Woodhouse who had resigned to take up a traffic commissioner's post. He held off a strong challenge from Labour who had come close in the general election in defiance of the Gladstone-Macdonald Pact. Radical suffragists came in to support the Labour candidate.
Arthur was privately educated. He was a friend of the philanthropist Joseph Rowntree and undertook socio-economic studies which were heavily influenced by his views on temperance.
He published a number of works starting with The Temperance Problem and Social Reform in 1899. He travelled widely in the English-speaking world and worked on settlements..
Arthur held on more comfortably in the 1910 elections as Labour fell back.
Arthur was brought into discussions around the National Insurance Bill because he was particularly concerned about children's health. He and his friends squeezed some money out of Lloyd George for this.
Arthur opposed the formation of the Coalition in 1915 and went to the opposition benches as an Independent Liberal. He campaigned against conscription and was generally regarded as not supportive of the war effort. In Huddersfield's Central Liberal Club his name was struck from the list of Honorary Vice-Presidents. The executive called him to a meeting but Alfred declined to attend saying he would not seek their support in the next election. He prophesied,"Liberalism is heading for the rocks and there will be a rude awakening recently".
Arthur stood down in 1918.
He died in 1942 aged 78.
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