1204 John Phillipps

Constituency : Mid  Lanarkshire  1888 - 94,  Pembrokeshire  1898 - 1908

John  took  over  at  Mid  Lanarkshire  after  the  resignation  of  Stephen  Mason. He  was  chosen after  the  local  Liberal  Association  had  rejected  the  miner  Keir  Hardie  as  their  candidate. Hardie  decided  to  stand  as  "Independent  Labour"  but  received  a  derisory  vote, in  fact  less than  John's  majority  over  the  Tory  candidate.

John  was  the  son  of  a  vicar - baronet. He  was  educated  at  Felsted  School  and  Oxford  and became  a  barrister. He  contested  Devizes  in  1886.

John  decided  to  stand  down  in  1894  but  four  years  later  stood  again  at  the  Pembrokeshire by-election  where  he  had  a  quite  easy  victory. He  was  unopposed  in  1900  and  brushed  aside the  Tories  in  1906. He  supported  Lloyd  George's  obstructionist  tactics . He  later  became president  of  the  Welsh  National  Liberal  Council.

John  was  created  Baron  St  Davids  in  1908 , later  upgraded  to  a  Viscount. John  had  never spoken  in  the  Commons  but  was  a  relatively  frequent  speaker  in  the  Lords.  In  1920  he headed  a  special  Cabinet  committee  on  public  works  to  alleviate  unemployment.

John's  wife  Nora  was  a  Liberal  feminist  and  Welsh  nationalist.

He  died  in  1938  aged  77.