1485 Rowland Hunt

Constituency  : Ludlow  1903-12  ( Liberal  Unionist ) , 1912-18  ( Conservative  with  brief  change  of  allegiance  to  the  National  Party  in  1917 )

Rowland  took  over  from  the  deceased  Robert  More  at  Ludlow.

Rowland  was  a  Catholic.

Rowland's  maiden  speech  was  in  support  of  Tariff  Reform  in  1904.

In  1907  Rowland  had  the  whip  withdrawn  for  criticising  Balfour's  leadership  on  tariff  reform.

In  1913  Rowland  wrote  to  The  Globe  saying  his  son  would  resign  his  commission  and  he  himself  was  pledged  to  fight  for  Ulster  against  Home  Rule.

Rowland  was  also  chairman  of  the  Imperial  Maritime  League.

Also  in  that  year  Rowland  joined  the  National  League  for  Clean  Government, an  organisation  with  a  distinctly  anti-semitic  bent . He  declared  at  a  meeting  "We  are   really  in  danger  of  being  ruled  by  alien  votes  and  foreign  gold...The  aliens  and  foreign  plutocrats  are  driving  out  British  blood".

In  1917  Rowland  briefly  joined  the  National  Party , a  breakaway  group  from  the  Conservatives  calling  for  a  more  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war. By  1918  Rowland  had  thought  better  of  it  and  rejoined  the  Conservatives.

He  died  in  1943  aged  85.

1484 Edward Ellice

Constituency : St  Andrew's  Burghs  1903-06

Edward  took  over  at  St  Andrew's  Burghs  after  the  resignation  of  the  Liberal  Unionist ,Henry  Anstruther.  Edward  disavowed  Home  Rule  and  Scottish  disestablishment   but  supported  Free  Trade  while  his  opponent  backed  Chamberlain . He  won  by  36  votes

Edward  was  a  cousin  of  the  previous   MP  of  the  same  name. He  was  commissioned in  the Grenadier  Guards  and  became  a  captain  in  1886. He  served  in  the  Boer  War  with  Lord Lovat's  Corps.

Edward's  maiden  speech  was  against  the  importation  of  Chinese  coolie  labour  in  the  Transvaal.

Edward  lost  the  seat  in  1906  by  23  votes.

He  died  in  1934  aged  76.

1483 John Ainsworth

Constituency ; Argyllshire  1903-18

John  took  Argyllshire  after  the  death  of  the  sitting  Tory  with  a  majority  of  1,586.

John  was  the  brother  of  the  former  Cumbrian  MP  David  Ainsworth. He  was  educated  at  University  College  School  and  University  College, London.  He  had  interests  in  iron  mines  in  Cumbria  and  was  chairman  of   the  Cleator  and  Workington  Junction  Railway . He  was  also  a  director  of  the  Whitehaven  Joint  Stock  Bank.  John  contested  Barrow  in  1886, losing  out  to  William  Caine. He  did  not  stand  in  1892  or  1895 but  fought  Argyllshire  in  1900.

John   supported  female  suffrage. He  was  a  member  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Mines  in  1910.

John  was  created  a  baronet  in  1917.

John  stood  down  in  1918.

He  died  in  1923  aged  79.

1482 Charles Hutchinson

Constituency  : Rye  1903-06

Charles  took  Rye  after  the  resignation  of  the  Tory  incumbent.

Charles  was  the  son  of  a  Nottingham  doctor. He  was  educated  at  Elstree  School  and  Edinburgh  University. He  furthered  his  studies  in  Europe  then  followed  in  his  father's  footsteps. He  practised  in  Scarborough  but  wintered  in  Monte  Carlo. He  retired  around  1902.
He  was  a  Liberal  Imperialist. He  stood  for  Rye  in  1900.

Charles's  parliamentary  interventions  were  on  an  eclectic  range  of  subjects.

Charles  was  not  able  to  hold  on  in  1906  despite  the  Liberal  landslide. He  was  knighted  as  a  consolation.

He  died  of  throat  cancer  the  following  year  aged  57. His  son  St  John  contested  the  seat  in  both  1910  elections.

1481 Charles Rose

Constituency : Newmarket  1903-10, 1910-13

Charles  took  Newmarket  after  the  death  of  the  Tory  MP.

Charles  was  the  son  of  a  Canadian  politician  and  was  born  in  Montreal. He  was  educated  there  and  at  Rugby.  He  was  a  young  captain  in  the  Montreal  Garrison  Artillery  and  helped  to  fend  off  a  Fenian  attack. He  started  work  in  an  American  bank  based  in  London  and  was  involved  in  a  syndicate  to  build  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway. In  the  1880s  he  started  breeding  race  horses. He  also  owned  a  paint  company.  He  was  also  a  keen  yachtsman. He  stood  in  Newmarket  in  1900.  He  lost  two  sons  in  the  Boer  War.

In  1909  Charles  was  created  a  baronet.

Charles  was  defeated  in  January  1910  but  regained  the  seat  in  December.

Charles  was  a  member  of  the  Road  Board  and  most  of  his  latter  contributions  to  the  House  were  on  motoring  matters.

Charles  was  president  of  the  Royal  Aero  Club.

Charles  is  thought  to  have  inspired  the  character  of  Toad  in  The  Wind  in  the  Willows.

Charles  died  of  a  heart  attack  in  1913  aged  65.

1480 Herbert Samuel

Constituency : Cleveland  1902-18, Darwen  1929-35   

Herbert  took  over  after  the  resignation  of   Alfred  Pease  at  Darlington.

Herbert  was  the  brother  of  Stuart  Samuel. He  was  educated  at  University  College  School  and  Oxford. Although  his  family  was  Jewish  he  announced  his  own  atheism  in  1892 ; he  did  keep  some  elements  of  Jewish  practice. He  fought  contests at  South  Oxfordshire in  1895  and  1900. He  was  on  the  radical  left  of  the  party  and  friendly  with  the  Fabians.

Herbert  was  appointed  to  Under Secretary  of  State  at  the  Home  Office  in  1905. Herbert  was  appointed  to  the  Cabinet in  1909  as  Cancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  and  progressed  through  the  posts  of  Postmaster-General  and  President  of  the  Local  Government  Board  to  Home  Secretary  when  Simon  resigned  over  conscription.

Herbert  suggested  a  British  Protectorate  over  Palestine  in  1915  to  further  Zionist  aims .

In  1916  Lloyd  George  asked  Herbert  to  stay  on  as  Home  Secretary  but  he  chose  to  go  with  Asquith  instead.

Herbert  was  initially  opposed  to  women's  suffrage  but  changed  his  mind. In  1917,  at  a  Speaker's  Conference  on  female  suffrage,  Herbert  passed  a  motion  allowing  women  to  be  candidates.

 Although  Herbert  was  willing  to  support  the  Coalition  in  1918  the  coupon  went  to  the  Tory  candidate  instead  and  he  was  defeated.

Herbert  was  appointed  as  High  Commissioner  of  Palestine  in  1920, an  appointment  confirmed  by  the  League  of  Nations  in  1922. Both  General  Allenby  and  the  Foreign  Secretary  Lord  Curzon  expressed   grave  doubts  about  appointing  a  firm  Zionist  to  the  post  and  the  effects  this  would  have  on  the  Arab  and  Christian  population . In  post  Herbert  tried  to  steer  a  middle  course , limiting  Jewish  immigration  without  putting  the  Arabs  in  a  position  to  stop  it.  He  served  there  until  1925.

As  soon  as  Herbert   returned  to  the  UK  , Baldwin  asked  him  to  head  a  commission  to  look  into  the  condition  of  the  mining  industry. The  Commission  recommended  reorganisation  but  not  nationalisation  , the  withdrawal  of  government  subsidies  and  a  cut  in  wages. It  was  a  factor  leading  to  the  General  Strike, during  which  he  acted  as  a  mediator.

In  1927  Herbert  became  head  of  the Liberal  Party  Organisation  allowing  the  Party  to  present  a  relatively  united  front at  the  1929  election.

In  1929  Herbert  returned  to  the  Commons  as  MP  for  Darwen. He  was  appointed  deputy  leader  of  the  Liberal  party  and  took  over  when  Lloyd  George  fell  ill  in  1931.That  left  him  in  charge  of  the  negotiations  on  the  formation  of  the  National  Government. He  resumed  as  Home  Secretary  with  Lloyd  George's  approval  but  they  then  fell  out  over  the  calling  of  a  General  Election. Lloyd  George  said  he  and  members  of  his  family  would  fight  it  as  Independent  Liberals  leaving  Herbert  as  leader  of  the  parliamentary  party.

Herbert  soon  found  his  position  uncongenial  as  Baldwin  moved  to  a  protectionist  policy, He  granted  Herbert  a  suspension  of  collective  responsibility  to  allow  the  few  Liberal  members  of  the  government  to  oppose  tariffs. Once  they  were  introduced  in  1932,  Herbert  and  his  colleagues  resigned  their  ministerial  posts  but  supported  the  government  as  backbenchers. In  November  1933  they  crossed  the  floor  and  reunited  with  Lloyd  George. Herbert  remained  as  leader  of  a  party  lacking  funds, motivation  and  direction, a  situation  for  which  he  must  shoulder  some  of  the  blame.

In  1935  Herbert  lost  his  seat. In  1937  he  was  created  Viscount  Samuel. He  supported  Chamberlain's  appeasement  policy  and  even  advocated  the  return  of  pre-war  German  colonies. He  declined  an  offer  to  return  to  government.

In  1944  Herbert  became  Liberal  leader  in  the  Lords  holding  the  position  until  he  retired  in  1955.

In  1951  Herbert  became  the  first  politician  to  deliver  a  party  political  broadcast  on  television.

In  the  fifties  Herbert  wrote  three  contemplative  books  on  philosophy  and  science.

He  died  in  1963  aged  92.


 

1479 Rowland Barran

Constituency : Leeds  North  1902-18

Rowland  captured  the  hitherto  solidly  Tory  seat  of  Leeds  North when  the  incumbent  was  made  a  peer. He  won  by  758  votes. Though  not  particularly  religious  himself  Rowland  was  from  a  Baptist  background  and  concentrated  his  campaign  on  the  iniquities  of  the  Education  Bill. His  victory  was  the  first  sign  that  the Bill  was  driving  Nonconformist  support  back  to  the  Liberals.

Rowland  was  the  son  of  John  Barran, former  MP  for  Leeds  and  Otley. He  worked  in  the  family  firm  of  clothing  manufacturers. He  was  a  member  of  Leeds  City  Council  and  Leeds  School  Board. He  was  a  Liberal  Imperialist.

Rowland's  maiden  speech  called  for  a  more  national  approach  to  secondary  education.

Rowland  headed  a  committee  to  reorganise  war  clothing  contracts.

Rowland  was  knighted  in  1917.

Rowland's  last  contribution  was  questioning  the  amount  of  labour  available  for  shipbuilding  in  1918.

Rowland  stood  down  in  1918  to  take  over  as  chairman  of  the  family  firm. In  fact  he  had  announced  this  decision  in  1912. He  was  vice-chair  of  the  Federation  of  British  Industries  for  a  time. He  retired  as  chairman  in  1932  but  remained a  director  until  1947.

He  died  in  1949,  a  day  before  his  91st  birthday.

1478 George Toulmin

Constituency  : Bury  1902-18

George  took  Bury  when  the  Tory  incumbent  resigned. He  fought  off  the  Liberal  Unionist  Harry  Levy-Lawson  by  414  votes. He  was  supported  by  the  cotton  trade  unions. The  by-election  was  fought  mainly  on  the  issue  of  the  corn  tax.

George  was  the  son  of  a  Preston  magistrate. He  was  educated  at  Preston  Grammar  School  and  became  a  journalist. He  eventually  became  owner  of  the  Preston  Guardian  and  founder  of  the  Lancashire  Daily  Post . He  also  helped  establish  the  Blackburn  Times  and  the  Warrington  Examiner.  He  was  a  Methodist. He  stood  for  Bury  in  1900  as  a  Radical.

George's  maiden  speech  attacked  the  grain  tax  in  the  1902  Budget.

In  1908  George  introduced  a  bill  to  create  wages  boards  in  certain  trades  to  fix  minimum  wages. He  sat  on  the  National  Health  Insurance  Joint  Committee  in  1911  and  chaired a  select  committee  on  London  traffic. It  recommended  greater  control  measures  and  education  for  schoolchildren.

George  was  knighted  in  1911.

George  was  active  in  recruitment  in  Preston  and  Bury  during  the  war.

George  supported  Lloyd  George  and  received  the  Coupon  in  1918. However  the  local  Tories  decided  to  oppose  him  and  won  the  seat.

George  became  Chairman  of  the  Press  Association  from  1919  to  1920.

He  died  in  1923  aged  65.

1477 Sir William Rattigan

Constituency  :  North  East  Lanarkshire  1901-04  ( Liberal  Unionist )

The  1900-06  Parliament  was  a  tumultuous  one  which  shook  the  political  world  to  its  foundations. The  dominant  political  personality  was  Joseph  Chamberlain. After  seeing  the  Boer  War  to  a  successful  conclusion  he  was  brought  back  to  earth  by  the  Education  Act  1902  which   enraged  the  Nonconformists  and  exposed  the  fundamental  weakness  of  the  Liberal  Unionists'  position. To  regain  the  political  initiative  he  announced  his  conversion  to  a  form  of  protection  known  as  Imperial  Preference in  1903. This  shook  the  Unionist  coalition  to  its  foundations  and  led  to  a  wave  of  defections  not  only  from  the  Liberal  Unionists  but  also  Free  Trade  Conservatives. The  PM,. Arthur  Balfour who  had  succeeded  his  uncle  Salisbury  in  1901  took  the  Emperor  Heraclius  route  and  adopted  a  middle  position  that  satisfied  no  one  and  made  him  look  weak  and  indecisive. His  last  gamble  in  1905  was  to  resign  and  put  the  Liberals  in,  hoping  to  expose  the  divisions  between  imperialists  and  radicals. This  meant  Campbell-Bannerman  could  choose  the  date  of  the  next  election.

Sir  William  took  North  East  Lanarkshire  from  the  Liberals  after  the  death  of  John  Colville . This  was  due  to  the  intervention  of  a  Scottish  Workers  candidate  Robert  Smillie  who  was  backed  by  the  United  Irish  League  mistrustful  of  the  imperialist  leanings  of  the  Liberal  candidate  Cecil  Harmsworth. Some  radical  Liberal  MPs  also  gave  their  backing  to  Smillie.

William  was  born  in  Delhi  to  an  Irish private. He  was  educated  in India  and  King's  College, London  and  became  a  barrister. He  mainly  practised  in  India. He  became  a  judge  in  the  Punjab  Chief  Court  and  wrote  some  legal  texts.  He  was  knighted  in  1895.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Civil  and  Military  Gazette  and  gave  Rudyard  Kipling  his  first  job  as  a  journalist.  He  was  a  skilled  linguist.He  stood  in  the  constituency  in  1900. He  was  a  Protestant.

William's  only  parliamentary  contributions  were  during  a  debate  on  the  army  estimates  in  1902  when  he  spoke  against  William  Caine's  proposal  to  reduce  the  army  in  India. He  was  ruled  out  of  order  by  the  Deputy  Speaker.

In  1904  William  told  the  whips  his  health  was  failing  and  he  was  going  to  Scotland  to  recuperate. On  the  way,  his  car  overturned  in  Bedfordshire  and  he  was  killed  instantly. He  was  63. He  was  the  grandfather  of  playwright  Terence  Rattigan.

1476 John Fuller

Constituency : Westbury  1900-11

John  took  Westbury  from  the  Tories  recapturing  his  father's  former  seat.

John  was  educated  at  Winchester  and  Oxford. He  was a  perennial  candidate  standing  at  Chippenhaam  ( 1892 ), |Bath ( 1895 ) and  Salisbury ( 1897 ).

John's  parliamentary  contributions  were  generally  on  either  military  or  agricultural  matters.

John  was  a  junior  whip  for  Campbell-Bannerman  then  promoted  to  Vice-Chamberlain  of  the  Household  in  1907.

In  1910  John  was  created  a  baronet.

John  resigned  his  seat  in  1911  to  become  Governor  of  Victoria. He resigned  that  position  in  1913  for  health and  family reasons.

He  died  in  1915  aged  50.

That  completes  our  look  at  the  1900  intake, We  now  look  at  the  by-election  victors  - and  defectors -  of  the  1900-06  Parliament.

1475 Charles Allen

Constituency : Stroud  1900-18

Charles  recovered  Stroud  from  the  Tories.

Charles  was  the  son  of  the  manager  at  the  Manchester  Guardian  and  part-owner  of  the  Manchester  Evening  News. He  was  educated  at  Rugby  and  Oxford.. He  initially  became  a  solicitor  but  then  switched  to  working  as   journalist  on  his  father's  paper. He  was  a  foreign  correspondent  working  in  the  Near  East. Charles  was  also  a  rugby  union  player  and  made  two  international  appearances  for  Wales  ( where  he  lived ).

Charles's  contributions  were  largely  on  military  matters.

Although  in  his  fifties, Charles  joined  up  in  1914  as  a  captain  based  on  his  Volunteer  experience. He  became  a  Town  Major  ,dealing  with  troop  movements.

Charles  stood  down  in  1918  but  attempted  a  comeback  in  the  seat  in  1922. He  failed  to  hold  it  for  the  Liberals, coming  second  to  the  Conservatives.

He  died  in  1930  aged  68.

1474 Russell Rea

Constituency : Gloucester  1900-10, South  Shields  1910-16

Russell  took  Gloucester  from  the  Liberal  Unionists  after  Charles  Monk  stood  down. Russell  was  generally  sympathetic  to  labour  causes  and  had  the  backing  of  the  national  railwaymen's  leader.

Russell's  mother  was  a  shipping  heiress. He  was  educated  privately  and  went  into  the  family  business. He  founded  the  business  R  and  J  H  Rea  in  Liverpool  in  the  1890s  which  rapidly  expanded  under  Russell  as  senior  director. He  was  deputy  chairman  of  the  Taff  Vale  Railway.
He  stood  for  the  Liberals  in  the  Liverpool  Exchange  by-election  in  1897, narrowly  losing  out  to  the  Liberal  Unionist  Charles  McArthur.

Rusell  was  a  member  of  the  radical  Rainbow  Circle.

Russell's  maiden  speech  was  in  protest  against  a  tax  on  coal  exports  in  1901.

In  January  1910 Russell  lost  his  seat  to  the  Conservatives  but  returned  at  a  by-election  in  South  Shields  that  October. He  was  unopposed.

In  1912  Russell  introduced  an  Ancient  Monuments  Protection  Bill  at  the  prompting  of  the  National  Trust. He  also  chaired  a  committee  on  rail  prices.

Russell  was  made  a  whip  in  1915  but  soon  suffered  a  decline  in  his  health. He  made  a  lengthy  intervention  on  war  finance  in  1915  having  been  put  in  charge  of  collating  the  Census  of  Production.

He  died  of  heart  failure  in  1916  aged  69.

1473 Francis Layland-Barratt

Constituency  : Torquay  1900-1910,  St  Austell  1915-18

Francis  took  Torquay  from  the  Tories.

Francis  was  a  Cambridge-educated  barrister  from  St  Austell. He  contested  Torquay  in  1895.

From  1903  to  1908  Francis  employed  the  future  suffragette  martyr  Emily  Davison  as  a  governess. She  travelled  to  Italy  with  the  family  in  1905.

Francis  was  created  a  baronet  in  1908.

Francis  was  defeated  in  this  always  tight  seat  by  30  votes  in  December  1910.

In  1915  Francis  was  elected  unopposed  in  St  Austell  after  Thomas  Agar-Robartes  was  killed  in  action.

Francis  stood  down  in  1918. He  remained  an  active  Liberal locally  and  was  Treasurer  for  the  National  Liberal  Federation  from  1927  to  1933.

He  died  in  1933  aged  73.

1472 John Spear

Constituency : Tavistock  1900-06, 1910-12  ( Liberal  Unionist ) , 1912-18  ( Conservative )

John  took  Tavistock  from  the  Liberals  by  15  votes. It  marked  the  beginning  of  a  tussle  with  the  Liberal  candidate  Hugh  Luttrell  that  lasted  for  four  elections.

John  was  a  farmer.

John  was  defeated  by  Luttrell  in  1906  but  came  close  to  recapturing  the  seat  in  January  1910  and  won  it  back  in  December  by  390  votes.

John  supported  continued  censorship  in  the  theatre  in  1913.

John's  last  speech  was  in  support  of  ending  Turkish  rule  over  the  Armenians  in  1918.

He  died  in  1921  aged  72.

1471 Edward Hain

Constituency  : St  Ives  1900-06  ( Liberal  Unionist  up  to  1904 )

Edward  took  over  from  Thomas  Bolitho  at  St  Ives. He  was  unopposed.

Edward  was  a  leading  shipowner  from  Cornwall. He  was  educated  locally  and  then  worked  in  a  bank  and  with  a  tea  merchant  before  joining  the  family  firm  where  he  urged  a  switch  from  sail  to  steam. Bolitho  provided  much  of  the  finance  for  this. He  was  a  large  landowner  in  West  Cornwall. He  was  a  Methodist  and  temperance  enthusiast. He  was  the  proprietor  of  the  Cornish  Telegraph. He  was  mayor  of  St  Ives  six  times.

In  1903  Edward  declared   his  support  for  Free  Trade  and  said  he  could  no  longer  support  Balfour's  government. The  following  year  he  followed  Devonshire  out  of  the  Liberal  Unionist  Association  and  became  a  Liberal.

Edward's  parliamentary  contributions  were  mainly  on  marine  matters.

In  1906  Edward  declined  to  stand  again.

In  1910  Edward  became  the  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Shipping  in  the  UK. He  was  knighted  the  same  year.

He  died  in  1917  aged 65.

1470 Sir Frederick Wills

Constituency : Bristol  North  1900-06  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Sir  Frederick  took  over  from  Lewis  Fry  at  Bristol  North.

Sir  Frederick  was  a  baronet  and  director  of  a  tobacco  firm.

Frederick's  few  contributions  to  Parliament  were  mainly  concerned  with  the  tobacco  trade.

He  died  in  1909  aged  70.

1469 Sir Lewis Molesworth

Constituency : Bodmin  1900-06 ( Liberal  Unionist )

Lewis  took  over  from  Leonard  Courtney  who  had  been  de-selected  at  Bodmin  for  his opposition  to  the  Boer  War.

Lewis  was  the  grandson  of  William  Molesworth, Palmerston's  Colonial  Secretary. His  father was  a   church  minister  who  converted  to  Catholicism. He  was  educated  at  Beaumont  and Stonyhurst  Colleges  making  his  presence  in  the  Liberal  Unionist  party  rather  incongruous. Lewis  owned  over  20,000  acres  and  had  interests  in  Jamaica,  mining  and  banking.He contested  Launceston  in  1892.

Lewis  made  little  contribution  in  Parliament.

Towards  the  end  of  his  term  in  1905, Lewis  wrote  to  his  Liberal  Unionist  Association  advising  them  that  he  could  not  undertake  another  election  campaign  due  to  the  state  of  his  health.

He  died  suddenly  in  1912  aged  58.

1468 Ernest Soares

Constituency : Barnstaple  1900-11

Ernest  unseated  the  Liberal  Unionist  William  Gull  at  Barnstaple.

Ernest  was  the  son  of  a  Liverpool  merchant  who  originally  came  from  Goa. The  family  converted  from  Hinduism  to  Christianity. He  was  educated  at  Cambridge  and  became  a  solicitor. He  was  a  Charity  Commissioner.

Ernest  supported  the  Land  Tenure Bill  in  1901.

Ernest was  another  anti-automobile  MP  who  referred  to  motorists  as  "statutory  trespassers  on  the  road."

In  1908  Ernest  drew  attention  to  the  lack  of  coastguards  on  the North  Devon  coast.

Ernest  was  appointed  a  whip  in  1910  but  the  following  year  he  resigned  both  the  post  and  his  seat  for  health  reasons.

Ernest  was  knighted  in  1911. He  became  Assistant  Comptroller  for  the Reduction  of  the  National  Debt. He  also  assisted  the  Home  Secretary  on  a  voluntary  basis.

He  died  in  1926  aged  61.

1467 John Shipman

Constituency : Northampton  1900-10

John  recaptured  the  second  Northampton  seat  from  the  Tories. He  issued  his  election  address  separately  from  Henry  Labouchere  who  was  threatening  to  stand  as  an  independent  but  in  the end  he  patched  up  his  differences  with  the  Liberals.

John  was  educated  at  Hurstlepoint  College  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister. He  stood  for  Gravesend  in  1892  where  a  mob  disrupted  his  final  meeting.

John  declared  himself  a  Radical  and  Home  Ruler  but  he  was  also  a  Liberal  Imperialist.

John  was  a  strong  supporter  of  female  suffrage. He  sponsored  the  Local  Authorities  ( Qualification  of  Women ) Bill  in  1905  but  could  not  get  an  assurance  from  Campbell-Bannerman  that  government  time  would  be  made  available  for  it.  In  1907  he  moved  an  amendment  to  the  Qualification  of  Women  ( County  and  Borough  Councils )

John  incurred  the  wrath  of  Labour  supporters  by  voting  against  the  Unemployed  Workmen's  Bill  in  1908.

In  1909  John  announced  he  would  not  stand  again  for  health  reasons.

He  died  in  1918  aged  70.

1466 John Barker

Constituency : Maidstone  1900-01, Penryn  and  Falmouth  1906-10

John  took  Maidstone  from  the  Tories.

John  was  a  brewer's  son  from  Maidstone. He  started  work  as  a  draper's  apprentice. He impressed  as  a  salesman  and  became  a  departmental  manager  . He  founded  Barker's department  store  in  Kensington. He  was  an  alderman  on  London  County Council. He  contested a  by-election  at  Maidstone  in  1898.

John  was  unseated  on  petition  but  the  Liberals  won  the  resultant  by-election.

John  became  a  baronet  in  1908.

John  was  also  a  farmer  who  bred  polo  ponies.

He  died  in  1914  aged  74.

1465 Freeman Freeman-Thomas

Constituency : Hastings  1900-06,  Bodmin 1906-10

Freeman  took  Hastings  from  the  Tories  whose  incumbent  stood  down  at  the  last  moment after  critisism  of  his  voting  record. His  predecessor's  wife  openly  supported  Freeman.

Freeman  was  the  son  of  a rifle  officer  and  grandson  of  Viscount  Hampden. he  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge  then  joined  the   volunteer   Sussex  Artillery. He  served  with  them  for  15  years  reaching  the  rank  of  major  before  entering  the  diplomatic  service  and  acting  as  aide-de-camp  to  his  father-in-law  Earl  Brassey  (  a  former  MP  for  the  seat )  when  Governor  of  Australia. He  was  a  country  gentleman  who  supported  Rosebery  and  the  Liberal  Imperialists.

Freeman  was  appointed  a  whip  in  1905  but  then  lost  his  seat, much  against  the  trend , in  1906. He  was  quickly  returned  for  Bodmin  in  a  by-election. He  then  served  as  private  secretary  to  Asquith.

Freeman  stood  down  in   January  1910  and  was  created  Baron  Willingdon. He  became  a  lord-in-waiting  to  George  V the  following  year  and  a  favoured  tennis  companion. In  1913  he  was  appointed  Crown  Governor  of  Bombay  where  he  aided  the  war  effort  by  treating  wounded  soldiers  during  the  Mesopotamian  Campaign. He  clashed  with  Gandhi  over  payment  of  taxes  before  resigning  the position  in  1918.

Freeman  was  soon  sent  back  to  India  as  Governor  of  Madras. He  had  to  declare  martial  law  in  1921  to  quell  riots. When  his  tenure  ended  in  1924  he  was  upgraded  to  a  viscount.

In  1926  Freeman  was  appointed  Governor-General  of  Canada  by  the  King, rather  against  Baldwin's  wishes. Changes  to  dominion  status  meant  Freeman's  duties  were  largely  ceremonial. When  his  tenure  ended  in  1931  he  was  upgraded  to  an  earl  and  made  viceroy  and  Governor-General  of  India. In  1932  he  imprisoned  Gandhi  and  other  leaders  to  quell  the  Civil  Disobedience  Movement. His  tenure  ended  in  1936  and  Edward  VIII  upgraded  him  to  a  Marquess.

He  died  in  1941  aged  74.

1464 Stuart Samuel

Constituency  : Whitechapel  1900- 16

Stuart  took  over  from   his  uncle,  Samuel  Montagu  at  Whitechapel. He  won  by  71  votes.

Stuart  was  a  London  banker. He  was  eduated  at Liverpool  Institute  and  University  College  School, Hampstead. He  was  a  London  councillor  from  1889  to  1892.  He  was  Jewish. He  was  a  partner  in  Montagu's  banking  firm.

In  the  1906  Campaign  Stuart's  Tory  opponent  David  Kyd  attacked  him  as  "PRO-ALIEN.. a  man  who  stands  up  in  this  way  for  the  foreign  Jews".

In  1912  Stuart was  created  a  baronet.

In  1913  Stuart   had  to  fight  a by-election  as  a  result  of  a select  committee  disqualifying  him for  buying  silver  for  the  India  Office  on  behalf  of  his  cousin  Edwin  Montagu. The  motive  , to  evade  speculators  forcing  the  price  up, was  sound , but  the  family  connections   led  some  Conservatives  to  allege  a  Jewish  plot  and  Jewish  control  of  the  Liberal  party,  He  was  returned  with  a  reduced  majority.

Stuart  helped  recruit  Jewish  volunteers  in  1914.

Stuart  stood  down  in  1916. He  was  soon  elected    President  of   the  Board  of  Deputies  of  British  Jews. He  was  a  Zionist  who  led  concerns  about  the  treatment  of  Jews  in  Poland.

He  died  in  1926  aged  59. He  was  the  elder  brother  of  future  Liberal  leader  Herbert  Samuel.

1463 Thomas Macnamara

Constituency : Camberwell  North  1900-18, Camberwell  North  West  1918-24

Thomas   took  Camberwell  North  from  the  Tories.

Thomas  was  born  in  Montreal, the  son  of  an  Irish  soldier. The  family  returned  to  Britain  when  he  was  eight. He  was  educated  in  Wales  and  Exeter  and  then  became  a  teacher.  He  taught  in  Exeter, Huddersfield  and  Bristol. He  became  editor  of  The  Schoolmaster. He  was  at  one  time  chairman  of  the  School  Board  and  in  1896 became  president  of  the  National  Union  Of  Teachers. He  contested  Deptford  in  1895.

Thomas  campaigned  for  the  introduction  of  school  meals  He  claimed  publicly  subsidising  starving  children  was  "first  rate  imperialism". He  was  known  in  Parliament  as  "Fighting  Mac".  He  was  an  accomplished  platform  speaker.

Campbell-Bannerman  made  him  Parliamentary  Secretary  to  the  Local  Government  Board  in  1907. Asquith  moved  him  to  Parliamentary  and  Financial  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty  in  1908.  He  held  the  post  until  1920  having  become  a  Lloyd  George  supporter. In  1920  he  joined  the  Cabinet  as  Minister  of  Labour.

Thomas  was  given  the  Coupon  in  1918  and  easily  defeated  a  Unionist  candidate  in  the  new  seat  of  Camberwell  North  West.

In  1919  Thomas  accepted  a  speaking  engagement  for  the  Tory  candidate  in  the  Spen  Valley  by-election  which  John  Simon  was  contesting  for  the  Liberals. As  a  result  of  this  he  was  repudiated  by  his  local  association  and  faced  both  Labour  and  Liberal  opposition  in  the  by-election  consequent  on  him  joining  the  Cabinet.. He  won  by  1,885  votes.He  increased  his  majority  in  1922  when  faced  by  the  same  combination  of  opponents.

Thomas  spoke  at  the  Leamington  Conference  on  reunification  in  1920  when  he  was  howled  down.

Thomas  held  on  by  just  80  votes  over  Labour  in  1923  when  the  Conservatives  contested  the  seat.  His  luck  ran  out  in  1924  when  he  came  third. His  daughter  Elsie  Elias  also  came  third  in  Southwark  East  in  that  election.

Thomas  got  an  early  opportunity  to  return  to  Parliament  at  Walsall  in  1925  but  came  second  to  the  Conservatives. He  stood  there  again  in  1929  without  success.

Thomas  published  a  number  of  pamphlets  throughout  his  political  career.  In  1926  Lloyd  George  said of  him  "Macnamara  looks  at  the  dark  places  in  our  modern  organisation  and  says  "Let's  get  things  done " ". Their  friendship  continued  after  Thomas  left  politics.

He  died  of  prostate  cancer  in  1931 aged  70.

 

1462 Horace Mansfield

Constituency : Spalding  1900-1910

Horace  took  Spalding  from  the  Liberal  Unionists  defeating  a  cousin  of  his  predecessor  Harry  Pollock  by  57  votes.

Horace  was  a  clay  manufacturer  specialising  in  tiles. He  was  educated  privately. He  was  a  Primitive  Methodist.

He  stood  down  in  January  1910.

He  died  in  1914  aged  50.

1461 Armine Wodehouse

Constituency : Saffron  Walden  1900-01

Armine  took  over  from  Charles  Gold  at  Saffron  Walden.

Aemine  was a  younger  son  of  the Liberal  peer  Lord Kimberley. He  was  assistant  private  secretary  to his  father  as Colonial  then  India  Secretary  in  Gladstone's  second  ministry. He was  then  principal  private  secretary  to  him  as  India  Secretary  ( 1886   and  1892-94 )  and  Foreign  Secretary  ( 1894-5 ). In  1895  he  contested  the  Isle  of  Wight.

Armine's  only  contribution  to  Parliament  was  a  question  on  a  local  postal  matter.

Armine  was considered  a  talent  but  died aged  40  just  a  few  months  later.

1460 George White

Constituency  : North  West  Norfolk  1900-12

George  took  over  from  Joseph  Arch  at  North  West  Norfolk  after  a  fairly  close  contest  with  the  Liberal  Unionists.

George  was   the  son  of  a  bootmaker  from  Lincolnshire . He  started  out  as  a  clerk  in  a  laeather  merchants  and  rose  to  be  a  partner  in  the  company. It  became  the   Norvic  shoe  company. He  brought  mass  production  to  shoemaking  which  provoked  a  large  strike  in  1897. He  was  magnanimous  enough  to  sub  one  of  the  leaders  when  his  strike  pay  didn't  come  through. He  was  a  Baptist  who  organised  the  passive  resistance  movement  towards  paying  church  rates.

George  was  a  strong  supporter  of  technical  and  secondary  education.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Norwich  School  Board  from  1890  until  its  abolition  in  1903. He  supported  temperance  and  Sunday  school  attendance.

George  was  knighted  in  1907.

He  died  in  1912  of  lung  cancer  aged  72.

1459 Arthur Priestley

Constituency : Grantham  1900-18

Arthur  took  Grantham  from  the  Tories  by  38  votes.

Arthur  was  the  son  of  the  just-retired   millowner   MP  for  Pudsey, Briggs  Priestley. Arthur  was  educated  privately  and  travelled  the  world. He  was  a  keen  cricketer  and  played  for  MCC. He  also  played  in  the  West  Indies  and  Australia. In  1886  Liberals  in  Stamford  wanted  him  to  stand  there  but  he  was  in  America  at  the  time  and  the Tory  went  unopposed. He  did  stand  there  in  a  by-election  in  1889. He  fought  it  unsuccessfully  in  1892 and  1895. In  1887,  he  founded  The  Grantham  Times.

Arthur  spoke  up  for  physical  education  in  schools  in  1902  but  otherwise  said  very  little  in  Parliament.

Arthur  was  knighted  in  1911.  He  was  Mayor  of  Grantham  from  1914  to  1917.

Arthur  stood  down  in  1918.

He  died  in  1933  aged  68.

1458 Henry Norman

Constituency  : Wolverhampton  South  1900-10, Blackburn  1910-23

Henry  recaptured  Charles  Villiers ' old  seat  for  the  Liberals  , defeating  the  Liberal  Unionist  candidate by  169  votes.

Henry  was  a  merchant's  son  from  Leicester. He  was  educated  there  and  at  Leipzig  and  Harvard  Universities. He  was  a  Unitarian  who  started  out  as  a  preacher  but  soon  moved  into  journalism. He  was  instrumental  in  divining  the  truth  behind  the  Dreyfus  Affair.He  became  Assistant  Editor  of  the  News  Chronicle  in  1895  but  gave  it  up  four  years  later  and  travelled  around  the  world. He  wrote  a  number  of  books  on  his  travels. He  also  held  directorships  in  coal  and  iron  companies.He  founded  a  magazine  The  World's  Work   to  promote  his  interest  in  technology.

In  1907  Henry  married  the  daughter  of  his  fellow MP  Charles  McLaren. She  was  a  moderate  suffragist  and  Henry  himself  supported  the  cause

Henry  organised  the  Budget  League  in  1909.

Henry  was  appointed  Assistant  Postmaster-General  in  January  1910  but  was  narrowly  defeated  by  the  Tories  a  few  days  later. He  returned  for  Blackburn  in  December.

Henry   manifested  an  interest  in  wireless  telegraphy  which  led  to  appointment  to  a  couple  of  important  committees  on  the  subject  in  1912  and  1920.

When  World  War  One  broke  out  Henry  and  his  wife  maintained  a  small  voluntary  hospital  in  Northern  France.

Henry  was  created  a  baronet  in  1915.

 Henry  sided  with  Lloyd  George  and  was  appointed  to  the  Air  Council  where  he  pushed  for  saturation  bombing  of  German  cities.

Henry  received  the  Coupon  in  1918. He  was  chief  propagandist  for   Lloyd  George's  National  Election  Committee.    He  topped  the  poll  and  was  returned  alongside  a  Unionist. In  1922  he  stood  as  a  National  Liberal  and  was  returned  in  second  place.

Henry  stood  down  in  1923.

Henry  was  a  keen  motorist  and  vice-president  of  the  Wolverhampton  Automobile  Club.

He  died  in  1938  aged  80. He  was  the  great  -grandfather  of  Tory  MP  Jesse  Norman.