Constituency : Hertford 1826-32, Finsbury 1834-61
We now move on to the capital's MPs.
Thomas was born to wealthy and well-connected parents related to the Earl of Carlisle. He was educated at Harrow and joined the Coldstream Guards. He came under the influence of the General and MP Ronald Feguson who switched him on to Radical causes. He became a lieutenant before leaving the army in 1819. He first stood for Parliament in 1820 , losing at Pontefract. He stood for Hertford in 1823 but wasn't successful there until 1826. He had to spend a fortune to keep the seat in 1830 and 1831 but lost it in 1832. He then switched to the new metropolitan borough of Finsbury winning it in 1834. There he was free to proclaim his Radical creed and he became the Chartist's great friend in Parliament , introducing the second petition to Parliament in 1842 although he denounced Fergus O Connor for suggesting that violence might be necessary to achieve their aims . In 1841 he helped bring down the Melbourne government over sugar taxes. He attacked the Poor Law and the practice of opening post , clashing with the Home Secretary Graham and creating a public furore on the issue. He was also a strong opponent of theatre censorship. He was a champion of religious liberty and in particular of Jewish emancipation outlining the case in a book The Jews of England : Their History and Wrongs. He supported trade unions and was president of the National Association of United Trades for the Protection of Labour for seven years. He was a strong if eccentric debater in Parliament even when suffering from a bronchial condition. One observer described him as " just the man for saying at the right moment what everybody wished to be said and nobody had the courage to say". By 1857 he was reconciled to Palmerston's leadership of the Liberal party telling his electors that Palmerston had introduced a more liberal form of government. He was also scathing of the "peace at any price" party and abstained on the Conspiracy to Murder Bill. He opposed sanitation schemes.
Along with his political activities Thomas was a well-known figure in society, a sartorial dandy with frequent affairs, a keen horserder and avid theatre-goer. He also amassed considerable gambling debts and was accused of using parliamentary privilege to escape punishment. He was known as the "Dandy Demagogue". Cobden described him and his original Finsbury colleague Wakley as "the kid-glove democrats and the unscientific radicals of the Finsbury school".
Disraeli used Thomas as the source for much of his portrayal of Chartism in Sybil or the Two Nations. He was also sketched in Nicholas Nickleby.
He died in 1861 aged 65.
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