Constituency : Coventry 1910-18, Edinburgh East 1931-5
David took Coventry from the Tories.
David was the son of the former Mid Lanarkshire MP Stephen Mason. He was educated at various Scottish schools and Glasgow University. He went into banking and also had railway interests. He was a founder and chairman of the Sound Currency Association. He published a tract on Turkish atrocities in Macedonia in 1903. He stood at Glasgow Tradeston in 1906 and January 1910.
In 1911, David protested at Italian atrocities in Libya. He was a strong supporter of Home Rule and a friend of Redmond. He also supported female suffrage. He was part of a deputation to Asquith expressing unease at naval spending. He was part of the unofficial backbench group the Liberal Foreign Affairs Committee set up in 1911 to keep an eye on Grey. This and his constant criticism of the government led to his repudiation by the local party in January 1914.
David took a pacifist stance during World War One.He opposed conscription and the National War Aims Committee which he saw as public funding of propaganda against opponents of the war .
David stood as an independent Liberal in 1918, coming fifth. Back in the party, he stood for Romford in 1923 and 1924 coming third. He kept up a public profile with numerous letters to the press on fiscal matters. He came a close second in Barnstaple in 1929.
In 1931 the Conservatives gave David a free run at Edinburgh East as a supporter of the National Government and he unseated the Labour MP. However he voted against the government just weeks later and followed Samuel into opposition. In 1935 he came a distant third as Labour reclaimed the seat.
In 1935 David joined the Anglo-German Fellowship.
David joined the Liberal Nationals in 1938
He died in 1945 aged 79.
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