Constituency : Buckrose 1900-18
Luke took over from Sir Angus Holden at Buckrose. His majority was 90.
Luke was from Deighton, near Huddersfield. He was a solicitor. He was a magistrate and from 1897, the Coroner for the East Riding. He was agent for William McArthur in the seat in 1886. He was an alderman for East Riding County Council.
Luke's maiden speech was in favour of the Midwives Bill in 1901 which sought to regulate the practice.
Luke was knighted in 1908.
Luke was a supporter of female suffrage.
Luke was wary of Lloyd George's land campaign of 1913, fearing it might alienate local nonconformist farmers . He publicly stressed his "independence" on rural matters. Luke was also opposed to the idea of a minimum wage.
In 1914 Luke's bill allowing tenant farmers to claim compensation for disturbance if evicted on sale of the land was rushed through Parliament. It overturned a grievance stemming from a 1910 court case.
In 1918 Luke's health took a turn for the worse and he decided to step down at the election.
It emerged soon afterwards that Luke was in serious financial trouble with much of the debt being down to election expenses. After a hearing delayed by his precarious health, Luke was acquitted of fraud charges in 1919.
He died the following year aged 75.
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