Constituency : Liskeard 1876-85, Bodmin 1885-1900 ( from 1886 Liberal Unionist )
Leonard won Liskeard in 1876 after an unsuccessful challenge to the now deceased Adullamite Edward Horsman in 1874.
Leonard was a Cornishman from a distinguished family. He was educated at Cambridge and became a barrister. From 1872 to 1875 he was professor of political economy at University College London.
Leonard began a ministerial career in 1881 when Gladstone appointed him under-secretary of state at the Home Office. He was quickly switched to the Colonial Office and then in 1882 became Financial Secretary to the Treasury. In 1884 he resigned in protest at the Third Reform Bill containing no proposals for proportional representation which he saw as necessary for the survival of political economy.
Leonard held Liskeard until it was merged into the Bodmin seat which he won in 1885.
Leonard became a Liberal Unionist in 1886 which boosted the rebel faction's credibility. He retained his seat. He was appointed Deputy Speaker but never became Speaker because too many Conservatives were suspicious of his radical views. In 1895 he was re-elected after standing under the confusing banner of "Liberal Unionist and Independent Liberal".
Leonard was visibly uncomfortable with the Liberal Unionists joining the government in 1895 and became a strong critic of Chamberlain at the Colonial office. He was strongly pro-Boer , becoming leader of the South African Conciliation Committee,. He wrote to Morley that "our moral claim ... is so far satisfied by what has been conceded that to fight for more is an atrocious crime" . In his view imperialism was only justified if it helped the territories towards self-government through education. This stance , along with his failing eyesight , persuaded him that he must step down in 1900.
Leonard was a strong supporter of female suffrage through his marriage to Beatrice Webb's elder sister Catherine although he did feel that if married women got the vote, "politics may become a subject of domestic dissension". He wrote a number of political articles for The Times and published a book on the Constitution.
John opposed the compulsory purchase of land.
Leonard found his way back into the official Liberal party and stood for them at Edinburgh West in 1906. Campbell - Bannerman elevated him to the peerage as Baron Courtney.
He died in 1918 aged 85.
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