Constituency : Tottenham 1906-18, Tottenham South 1923-4 ( Labour )
Percy took Tottenham from the Tories.
Percy was the son of a butcher from Oxford. He started work as a messenger for a local examination board who encouraged him to study at Oxford. He began to train to be a Congregational minister. He began to involve himself in social work . In 1891 he became the first warden of the Mansion House Settlement in Canning Town. He became a member of West Ham Borough Council, supporting but not joining the Independent Labour Group. He was a member of the Fabian Society and the Rainbow Circle, a discussion group comprising Liberals and socialists. He gravitated towards the Quakers and contributed articles to their journal, the Friend.
Percy campaigned for civil liberties and unemployment relief. He favoured government assistance to trade union insurance schemes rather than a state scheme.
Percy opposed conscription on practical grounds , that denuding key industries of so many men would negate any military advantage and supported conscientious objectors. He supported the idea of a League of Nations .He was not a supporter of the coalition and was defeated by a couponed Conservative at Tottenham North in 1918.
In 1919 Percy joined the Labour party and came third at Luton in 1922 allowing the Tory to take the seat. He won Tottenham South in 1923 but was defeated in 1924.
Percy became disillusioned in Labour and rejoined the Liberals in 1927 attracted by the radical ideas on unemployment relief. He became chairman of the Save The Children Fund and supported educational and refugee charities. He wrote a book on unemployment and supported movements back to the land such as garden cities and farm colonies.
Percy was knighted in 1933.
On 30 June 1944 Percy was killed by a V1 flying rocket that landed in Tottenham Court Road. He was 79.
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