1400 Joseph Walton

Constituency  : Barnsley  1897-1922

Joseph   took  over  at  Barnsley  from  William  Compton  who  had  become  Marquis  of  Northampton. It  was  a  bruising  contest  as  the  ILP  decided  to  contest  the  constituency  with  Pete  Curran  chief  organizer  of  the  Gasworkers  and  General  Labourers  Union  as  their  candidate. Frederick  Maddison  who  had  recently  come  through  an  acrimonious  contest  with  the  ILP  at  Sheffield  Brightside  weighed  in  against  them  during  the  campaign. Joseph  won  with  a  3,290  majority  over  the  Unionist  candidate.

Joseph  was  a  colliery  owner's  son  from  Durham.  He  was  educated  privately. He  was  an  active  Wesleyan  Methodist. He  created  his  own  prosperous  coal  business  based  in  Midlesbrough. He  contested  Doncaster  in  1895.

Joseph  was  a  Radical  in  favour  of  "Home  Rule  All  Round". He  was  in  favour  of  female  suffrage. In  1905  he  complained  that  Britain  was  overspending  on  defence  compared  to  her  competitors. He  travelled  round  the  world. Joseph  was  opposed  to  state  interference  in  the  coal  industry  but  supported  the  nationalisation  of  coal  royalties. In  1904  he  complained  that  Britain  didn't  support  its  overseas  merchants  as  effectively  as  her  competitors.

Joseph  held  his  seat  in  1900  and  was  unopposed  in  1906. He  won  easily  in  January  1910  and  was  unopposed  in  December. The  Barnsley  Trades  Council  grudgingly  conceded he  was  "not  a  bad  representative "  in  1914.

Joseph  was  created  a  baronet  in  1910.

Joseph  was  elected  unopposed  as  a  Coalition  Liberal  in  1918. He  stood  down  in  1922.

Joseph  had  a  deep  interest  in  China, becoming  known  as  the  "Member  for  China"  and  publishing  China  and  the  Present  Crisis  in  1900.

He  died  in  1923  aged  73.