Constituency : North East Derbyshire 1918-22, Harwich 1935-54 ( from 1935 Liberal National )
Stanley was perhaps the luckiest Liberal in the 1918 contest. The Unionist incumbent George Bowden had fallen out with the party and the coupon was given to a member of the Cavendish family instead. However Bowden stood as an Independent Unionist. This split in the Unionist vote allowed Stanley to triumph. Cavendish finished fourth, the worst result for a couponed candidate anywhere.
Stanley was a Londoner educated at the City of London school. He was a chartered accountant and businessman. He was vice-president of the Building Societies Association. He was a member of the LCC from 1910 to 1919.
Stanley's maiden speech called for an end to conscription.
In 1922 Stanley lost to Labour by just 15 votes. In 1923 he contested Dunbartonshire and came third.In 1924 He contested Cheltenham and came a close second in the absence of a Labour candidate.
Stanley eventually returned to Parliament as a Liberal National succeeding John Pybus at Harwich. He held on in 1945 and had fairly easy victories in 1950 and 1951 ( when he changed his designation to National Liberal and Conservative ). Shirley Williams, who contested the by-election when he stood down, described Stanley as "a man distinguished by his total silence in the House of Commons".
Stanley was elevated to the peerage as Baron Dovercourt in 1954.
He died in 1961 aged 82.
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