Constituency : Islington East 1923-24
Arthur took Islington East from the Tories in a three cornered contest.
Arthur was a dramatist's son. He was educated at Winchester and Oxford and became a barrister. He specialised in local taxation. In 1912 he helped Lloyd George draft the national insurance legislation and joined the land inquiry committee in 1912. In the First World War he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve then worked for the Ministry of Munitions. He sat on the land acquisition committee in 1917. In the last months he enlisted as a private but remained in England. Despite his links with Lloyd George he stood as an Asquithian in St Pancras West in 1918 and 1922 coming second to the Tories in three-cornered contests. He was a defending barrister in Horatio Bottomley's libel case and his cross-examination of Bottomley helped secure the latter's downfall.
In 1924, Arthur was pushed into third place as the Tories recaptured the seat. In 1928, he stood in a by-election at Ilford moving the Liberals from third to second behind the Tories.In 1929 he stood again and reduced the majority. On both occasions he would easily have won had Labour withdrawn.
In 1930, Arthur published Escape from the Dole, advocating a public works programme.
In 1931, Arthur stood against Churchill at Epping and came a distant second. In 1935, he came a poor third in Nottingham East. In 1936 he was elected to the Liberal Party Council.
In 1945 he came a respectable third at Shrewsbury. He stood for the City of London in a by-election later that year but lost in a straight fight with the Tories.
Arthur was involved in the prosecution of German and Japanese war criminals. He was knighted in 1949. He was chairman of the Foreign Compensation Commission from 1950 to 1958 then became President of the Liberal Party for a year.
He died in 1965 aged 82.
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