Constituency : Bethnal Green North East 1929-34 ( from 1933 Independent Liberal ), 1934-5 ( Labour ), Wandsworth Central 1937-40 ( Labour )
Harry took Bethnal Green North East from Labour despite the intervention of a Tory candidate.
Harry was the son of a fine art publisher. He was educated at St Paul's School and became a solicitor. He was Honoary Secretary of London's largest Jewish Lads' Club. He was a Zionist and was honorary secretary to the Land and Nation League. He served in Worl War One and reached the rank of Major. In 1924 he stood for Whitechapel and St George's but failed to unseat Labour.
Harry supported the Labour government on price-fixing. At a meeting in July 1930 he expressed the view that the party was "done for".
Harry was friendly with Lloyd George but stayed loyal to Herbert Samuel when the party split.
In 1931, Harry increased his majority as the Tories withdrew. He was a founding member of the Central British Fund for German Jewry.
Harry opposed all the government's protectionist measures. In December 1931 he led a rebellion of four Samuelite Liberals against the Import Duties Bill. He was the first Samuelite to cross to the opposition benches. In 1933 he declared himself an Independent Liberal then joined Labour the following year. He opted to stand in Cardiff South rather than defend his seat and ran the Tories close in a straight fight.
In 1937, Harry won Wandsworth Central from the Tories in a by-election. He resigned in 1940 to allow Ernest Bevin to become an MP and was raised to the peerage as Baron Nathan. He held posts in Attlee's government as Under Secretary of State for War from 1945 to 1946 and Minister of Civil Aviation from 1946 to 1948.
He died in 1963 aged 74.
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