Herbert Willison: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Latest revision as of 01:49, 2 January 2024

Herbert Willison (1872 - 30 November 1943) was an English solicitor and Liberal Party, later Liberal National politician.

Family and education

Willison was born in Cosgrove, Northamptonshire. He received his education in Northamptonshire and Birmingham. He was married to Frances Mary Pearson and they had two daughters.^[1]

Career

Willison was admitted as a solicitor in 1901 ^[2] and practised in Birmingham. He achieved a reputation as an advocate throughout the English Midlands. He established himself with the firm of Philip Baker & Co. who were solicitors to many large enterprises and societies.^[1]

Politics

Birmingham

Willison first stood for Parliament at the 1922 general election as Liberal candidate in the Birmingham Deritend division, coming third in a three-cornered contest.^[3]

Nuneaton

At the 1923 general election, Willison switched his candidacy to the Nuneaton division of Warwickshire. In a three-cornered contest, Willison defeated the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), Sir Henry Maddocks, by a majority of 3,578 votes with Labour in third place.^[4] Ironically, Willison and Maddocks were longstanding personal friends, the former having as solicitor instructed Maddocks as barrister to represent a number of legal cases before Maddocks became MP.^[5]

Willison was judged to have gained great popularity in Nuneaton during his brief time as MP^[6] but by 1924, after the first ever Labour government, the Tories were resurgent nationally and Britain was swinging back to two-party politics, with Labour replacing the Liberals as the main party of the left. At the 1924 general election the Conservatives re-captured Nuneaton with Willison pushed narrowly into third place by Labour. The combined Liberal and Labour vote amounted to 62% of the poll and it seems likely that in a straight fight Willison would have retained the seat.^[4]

1929-1931

Willison tried to regain Nuneaton at the 1929 general election. In a strange political turnaround, the sitting Tory MP, Arthur Hope finished bottom of the poll but this time it was Labour's Francis Smith who was elected as Nuneaton's MP, with Willison second.

In 1931 Willison was adopted as prospective Liberal candidate for Shrewsbury^[7] but he never contested the division. Instead Willison made his final effort to return to the House of Commons at Nuneaton again at the 1931 general election. At this election Willison had the advantage of calling himself the National Liberal candidate and stated publicly that he was a supporter of the National Government.^[8] It was however the Conservative, Edward North, who accrued the electoral authority of being identified with the National Government ousting Francis Smith from the seat with Willison some way back in third place.^[4] Willison did not stand for Parliament again.

Liberal or Liberal National

Willison seems to have been ambivalent about his position within the liberal family and its support for the National Government. He retained his initial connection with the Liberal National faction led by Sir John Simon. He became a member of the Liberal National Council, the body set up to support Simon's Liberal National group in Parliament and to form the core of the new party's organisation in the country.^[9] By 1932 however he seems to have been having doubts about the Simonites’ abandonment of the traditional Liberal policy of Free Trade. In September 1932 the official Liberal group, led by Sir Herbert Samuel were drifting away from supporting the National Government over the Ottawa Agreements. Willison attended the meeting of the executive committee of the National Liberal Federation held on 21 September 1932 as a representative of the official Midlands Liberals. The meeting passed a resolution attacking the government over Ottawa ^[10] and this led to the formal distancing of the official Liberal group from the government, although they did not move across to the opposition side of the House of Commons until the autumn of 1933.^[11] In February 1933 he was still attending the meetings of the National Liberal Federation but by 1938 he was again attending the annual conference of the Liberal National Party ^[12] and was that year the Chairman of the West Midlands Branch of the Liberal National Party.^[13]

Death

Willison died on 30 November 1943 aged 71 years at his home in Chessets Wood, Knowle, Warwickshire.^[14]

References

^ ^a ^b Who was Who, OUP 2007
^ The Solicitors’ Journal, 1943 p453
^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 81. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
^ ^a ^b ^c Craig, op. cit., page 488
^ "Death of Sir Henry Maddocks, K.C. Distinguished Old Wemian. Brilliant Forensic Career". Shrewsbury Chronicle. 12 June 1931. p. 6.
^ The Times, 17 October 1924 p8
^ The Times, 21 February 1931 p6
^ The Times House of Commons 1931; Politico’s Publishing, 2003 p96
^ The Times, 11 July 1932 p12
^ The Times, 22 September 1932 p10
^ David Dutton, A History of the Liberal Party in the Twentieth Century; Palgrave MacMillan, 2004 pp127-129
^ The Times, 23 June 1938 p9
^ The Times, 15 August 1938 p13
^ The Times, 2 December 1943 p7

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Herbert Willison

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Henry Maddocks	Member of Parliament for Nuneaton 1923 – 1924	Succeeded by Arthur Hope

[Who_was_Who,_OUP_2007-1] Who was Who, OUP 2007

[2] The Solicitors’ Journal, 1943 p453

[craig1918-1949-3] Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 81. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

[Craig-p488-4] Craig, op. cit., page 488

[shrewchron-5] "Death of Sir Henry Maddocks, K.C. Distinguished Old Wemian. Brilliant Forensic Career". Shrewsbury Chronicle. 12 June 1931. p. 6.

[6] The Times, 17 October 1924 p8

[7] The Times, 21 February 1931 p6

[8] The Times House of Commons 1931; Politico’s Publishing, 2003 p96

[9] The Times, 11 July 1932 p12

[10] The Times, 22 September 1932 p10

[11] David Dutton, A History of the Liberal Party in the Twentieth Century; Palgrave MacMillan, 2004 pp127-129

[12] The Times, 23 June 1938 p9

[13] The Times, 15 August 1938 p13

[14] The Times, 2 December 1943 p7

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
-'''Herbert Willison''' (1872 - 30 November 1943) was an English [[solicitor]] and [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], later [[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|Liberal National]] politician.
+{{Use British English|date=November 2016}}
+'''Herbert Willison''' (1872 - 30 November 1943) was an English [[solicitor]] and [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], later [[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|Liberal National]] politician.
 ==Family and education==
 Willison was born in [[Cosgrove, Northamptonshire]]. He received his education in Northamptonshire and [[Birmingham]]. He was married to Frances Mary Pearson and they had two daughters.<ref name="Who was Who, OUP 2007">''Who was Who'', OUP 2007</ref>
 ==Career==
@@ Line 8: / Line 10: @@
 ==Politics==
 ===Birmingham===
-Willison first stood for [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1922|1922 general election]] as Liberal candidate in the [[Birmingham Deritend (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Deritend]] division, coming third in a three-cornered contest.<ref name="craig1918-1949">{{cite book
+Willison first stood for [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] at the [[1922 United Kingdom general election|1922 general election]] as Liberal candidate in the [[Birmingham Deritend (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Deritend]] division, coming third in a three-cornered contest.<ref name="craig1918-1949">{{cite book
  |last=Craig
  |first=F. W. S.
@@ Line 19: / Line 22: @@
  |publisher= Parliamentary Research Services
  |location=Chichester
- |id= ISBN 0-900178-06-X
+ |isbn= 0-900178-06-X
  |page= 81
 }}</ref>
 ===Nuneaton===
-At the [[United Kingdom general election, 1923|1923 general election]], Willison switched his candidacy to the [[Nuneaton (UK Parliament constituency)|Nuneaton division]] of [[Warwickshire]].  In a three-cornered contest, Willison defeated the sitting [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (UK)|Member of Parliament]] (MP), Sir [[Henry Maddocks (politician)|Henry Maddocks]], by a majority of 3,578 votes with [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] in third place.<ref name="Craig-p488">Craig, op. cit., page 488</ref>
+At the [[1923 United Kingdom general election|1923 general election]], Willison switched his candidacy to the [[Nuneaton (UK Parliament constituency)|Nuneaton division]] of [[Warwickshire]].  In a three-cornered contest, Willison defeated the sitting [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP), Sir [[Henry Maddocks (politician)|Henry Maddocks]], by a majority of 3,578 votes with [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] in third place.<ref name="Craig-p488">Craig, op. cit., page 488</ref>  Ironically, Willison and Maddocks were longstanding personal friends, the former having as solicitor instructed Maddocks as barrister to represent a number of legal cases before Maddocks became MP.<ref name=shrewchron>{{cite news|title=Death of Sir Henry Maddocks, K.C. Distinguished Old Wemian. Brilliant Forensic Career.|work=Shrewsbury Chronicle|date=12 June 1931|page=6}}</ref>
-Willison was judged to have gained great popularity in Nuneaton during his brief time as MP<ref>The Times, 17 October 1924 p8</ref> but by 1924, after the first ever [[First Labour Government (UK)|Labour government]], the [[Tories]] were resurgent nationally and Britain was swinging back to two-party politics, with Labour replacing the Liberals as the main party of the left. At the [[United Kingdom general election, 1924|1924 general election]] the Conservatives re-captured Nuneaton with Willison pushed narrowly into third place by Labour. The combined Liberal and Labour vote amounted to 62% of the poll and it seems likely that in a straight fight Willison would have retained the seat.<ref name="Craig-p488" />
+Willison was judged to have gained great popularity in Nuneaton during his brief time as MP<ref>The Times, 17 October 1924 p8</ref> but by 1924, after the first ever [[First Labour Government (UK)|Labour government]], the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Tories]] were resurgent nationally and Britain was swinging back to [[two-party system|two-party politics]], with Labour replacing the Liberals as the main party of the left. At the [[1924 United Kingdom general election|1924 general election]] the Conservatives re-captured Nuneaton with Willison pushed narrowly into third place by Labour. The combined Liberal and Labour vote amounted to 62% of the poll and it seems likely that in a straight fight Willison would have retained the seat.<ref name="Craig-p488" />
 ===1929-1931===
-Willison tried to regain Nuneaton at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1929|1929 general election]]. In a strange political turnaround, the sitting Tory MP, [[Arthur Hope, 2nd Baron Rankeillour|Arthur Hope]] finished bottom of the poll but this time it was Labour’s Francis Smith who was elected as Nuneaton’s MP, with Willison second.
+Willison tried to regain Nuneaton at the [[1929 United Kingdom general election|1929 general election]]. In a strange political turnaround, the sitting Tory MP, [[Arthur Hope, 2nd Baron Rankeillour|Arthur Hope]] finished bottom of the poll but this time it was Labour's Francis Smith who was elected as Nuneaton's MP, with Willison second.
-In 1931 Willison was adopted as prospective Liberal candidate for [[Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Shrewsbury]]<ref>The Times, 21 February 1931 p6</ref> but he never contested the division. Instead Willison made his final effort to return to the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] at Nuneaton again at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1931|1931 general election]].  At this election Willison had the advantage of calling himself the National Liberal candidate and stated publicly that he was a supporter of the [[National Government (UK)|National Government]].<ref>''The Times House of Commons 1931''; Politico’s Publishing, 2003 p96</ref> It was however the Conservative, Edward North, who accrued the electoral authority of being identified with the [[National Government (UK)|National Government]] ousting Francis Smith from the seat with Willison some way back in third place.<ref name="Craig-p488" /> Willison did not stand for Parliament again.
+In 1931 Willison was adopted as prospective Liberal candidate for [[Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Shrewsbury]]<ref>The Times, 21 February 1931 p6</ref> but he never contested the division. Instead Willison made his final effort to return to the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] at Nuneaton again at the [[1931 United Kingdom general election|1931 general election]].  At this election Willison had the advantage of calling himself the National Liberal candidate and stated publicly that he was a supporter of the [[National Government (UK)|National Government]].<ref>''The Times House of Commons 1931''; Politico’s Publishing, 2003 p96</ref> It was however the Conservative, Edward North, who accrued the electoral authority of being identified with the [[National Government (UK)|National Government]] ousting Francis Smith from the seat with Willison some way back in third place.<ref name="Craig-p488" /> Willison did not stand for Parliament again.
 === Liberal or Liberal National===
-Willison seems to have been ambivalent about his position within the liberal family and its support for the National Government. He retained his initial connection with the Liberal National faction led by [[Sir John Simon]]. He became a member of the Liberal National Council, the body set up to support Simon’s Liberal National group in Parliament and to form the core of the new party’s organisation in the country.<ref>The Times, 11 July 1932 p12</ref> By 1932 however he seems to have been having doubts about the Simonites’ abandonment of the traditional Liberal policy of [[Free Trade]]. In September 1932 the official Liberal group, led by Sir [[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel|Herbert Samuel]] were drifting away from supporting the National Government over the [[British Empire Economic Conference|Ottawa Agreements]]. Willison attended the meeting of the Executive Committee of the [[National Liberal Federation]] held on 21 September 1932 as a representative of the official Midlands Liberals. The meeting passed a resolution attacking the government over Ottawa <ref>The Times, 22 September 1932 p10</ref> and this led to the formal distancing of the official Liberal group from the government, although they did not move across to the opposition side of the House of Commons until the autumn of 1933.<ref>David Dutton, ''A History of the Liberal Party in the Twentieth Century''; Palgrave MacMillan, 2004 pp127-129</ref> In February 1933 he was still attending the meetings of the National Liberal Federation but by 1938 he was again attending the annual conference of the Liberal National Party <ref>The Times, 23 June 1938 p9</ref> and was that year the Chairman of the West Midlands Branch of the Liberal National Party.<ref>The Times, 15 August 1938 p13</ref>
+Willison seems to have been ambivalent about his position within the liberal family and its support for the National Government. He retained his initial connection with the Liberal National faction led by [[Sir John Simon]]. He became a member of the Liberal National Council, the body set up to support Simon's Liberal National group in Parliament and to form the core of the new party's organisation in the country.<ref>The Times, 11 July 1932 p12</ref> By 1932 however he seems to have been having doubts about the Simonites’ abandonment of the traditional Liberal policy of [[Free Trade]]. In September 1932 the official Liberal group, led by Sir [[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel|Herbert Samuel]] were drifting away from supporting the National Government over the [[British Empire Economic Conference|Ottawa Agreements]]. Willison attended the meeting of the executive committee of the [[National Liberal Federation]] held on 21 September 1932 as a representative of the official Midlands Liberals. The meeting passed a resolution attacking the government over Ottawa <ref>The Times, 22 September 1932 p10</ref> and this led to the formal distancing of the official Liberal group from the government, although they did not move across to the opposition side of the House of Commons until the autumn of 1933.<ref>David Dutton, ''A History of the Liberal Party in the Twentieth Century''; Palgrave MacMillan, 2004 pp127-129</ref> In February 1933 he was still attending the meetings of the National Liberal Federation but by 1938 he was again attending the annual conference of the Liberal National Party <ref>The Times, 23 June 1938 p9</ref> and was that year the Chairman of the West Midlands Branch of the Liberal National Party.<ref>The Times, 15 August 1938 p13</ref>
 ==Death==
@@ Line 45: / Line 48: @@
 * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-herbert-willison | Herbert Willison }}
-{{start box}}
+{{s-start}}
 {{s-par|uk}}
 {{succession box
- | title  = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Nuneaton (UK Parliament constituency)|Nuneaton]]
+ | title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Nuneaton (UK Parliament constituency)|Nuneaton]]
- | years  = [[United Kingdom general election, 1923|1923]] – [[United Kingdom general election, 1924|1924]]
+ | years  = [[1923 United Kingdom general election|1923]] – [[1924 United Kingdom general election|1924]]
  | before = Sir [[Henry Maddocks (politician)|Henry Maddocks]]
  | after  = [[Arthur Hope, 2nd Baron Rankeillour|Arthur Hope]]
 }}
-{{end box}}
+{{s-end}}
-{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
-| NAME              = Willison, Herbert
-| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
-| SHORT DESCRIPTION = English politician
-| DATE OF BIRTH     = 1872
-| PLACE OF BIRTH    =
-| DATE OF DEATH     = 30 November 1943
-| PLACE OF DEATH    =
-}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Willison, Herbert}}
 [[Category:1872 births]]
 [[Category:1943 deaths]]
 [[Category:English solicitors]]
-[[Category:UK MPs 1923–24]]
+[[Category:UK MPs 1923–1924]]
-[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs]]
+[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
-[[Category:Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies]]
 [[Category:Politics of Warwickshire]]
-[[Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
+[[Category:Politicians from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
+[[Category:National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians]]