Constituency : Bradford East 1924-9
Thomas took Bradford East from Labour by 66 votes after the Tories withdrew.
Thomas was a blacksmith's son from Bridlington. He was educated at Bridlington School. He went into his father's trade. He was a local magistrate. He was an East Riding county councillor and sometime Mayor of Bridlington. In 1918 he contested Howdenshire as an Asquithian but was easily seen off by the incumbent Tory. He was a Primitive Methodist. In 1922 and 1923 he stood at Buckrose running the Tory very close on both occasions.
Thomas was known as a good speaker and an independent mind on local government and agricultural issues. He championed smallholders in Parliament and was chair of the Association of North of England Smallholders. He supported birth control and the abolition of capital punishment.He became a whip in 1926.
Thomas was very hostile to Lloyd George and joined both the Radical Group and the Liberal Council to resist his leadership and the social policies he was developing.
Despite the Tories again standing down for him, Thomas was defeated by Labour in 1929.
He died in 1956 aged 81.
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