1550 Lewis Haslam

Constituency : Monmouthshire  1906-18, Newport  1918-22

Lewis  took  Monmouthshire  from  the  Tories  despite  Labour  intervention.

Lewis  was  from  Bolton. He  was  educated  at  University  College, Bolton. He  was  a  wealthy cotton  manufacturer. He  patented  Aertex. He  stood  for  Westhoughton  in  1892  and  Stamford  in  1900.

Lewis  was  a   moderate  Liberal.  In  1916  he  joined  the  Liberal  War  Committee  , a  group  supporting  conscription. He  was  a supporter  of  Lloyd  George  and  received  the  coupon  in  1918.

Lewis  opposed  giving  the  Irish  Parliament  control  of  its  own  taxes  as  this  would  lead  to  similar  demands  from  Scotland  and  Wales.

Lewis  angered  local  Conservatives  with  his support  of  liquor  control in  1921  and  they  made  plans  to  oppose  him  regardless  of  any  national  pact  at  the  next  election.

In  1922  Lewis  went  on  a  tour  of  Germany  and  in  his  last  speech  to  the  Commons, reported  on  his  findings. He  called  for  a  large  reduction  in  German  reparations.

He  died suddenly  in  1922  aged  66. The  ensuing  by-election  helped  precipitate  the  end  of  the  Lloyd  George  Coalition  government.