Friday, 1 September 2017

1664 Willoughby Dickinson


A Question of Justice: Willoughby Dickinson, MP and suffrage supporter

Constituency : St  Pancras  West  1906-18

Willoughby  took  St  Pancras  West  from  the  Tories.

Willoughby  was  the  son  of  the former  Stroud  MP  Sebastian  Dickinson. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge. He  became  a  Progressive  councillor  and  was  chairman  of  the  L.C.C.  from  1900-1901.

Willoughby  was one  of  the  foremost  supporters  of  female  suffrage  and  made  numerous  attempts  to  get  a  measure  passed  in  the  Commons.He  refused to   criticise  suffragette  militancy. He  was  part  of  the  Speaker's  Conference  on  electoral  reform.

Willoughby  had pacifist  leanings  and  supported  the  League  of  Nations.

In  1918,  Willoughby  was  defeated by  a  couponed  Conservative  due  to  the  intervention of  a  Labour  candidate.

In  1930,  Willoughby  was  created  Baron  Dickinson. He  became  secretary-general  of  the  World  Alliance  for  International  Friendship.

He  died  in 1943  aged  84.

No comments:

Post a Comment