Charles Roberts (British politician)
Charles Henry Roberts (22 August 1865 – 25 June 1959) was a British radical Liberal politician.[1]
Charles Henry Roberts | |
|---|---|
 Photograph of Roberts, 1917 | |
| Member of Parliament for Derby | |
| In office 1922–1923 | |
| Preceded by | J. H. Thomas Albert Green |
| Succeeded by | J. H. Thomas William Raynes |
| Member of Parliament for Lincoln | |
| In office 1906–1918 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Seely |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Davies |
| Comptroller of the Household | |
| In office 1915–1916 | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Saye and Sele |
| Succeeded by | Sir Edwin Cornwall, Bt |
| Under-Secretary of State for India | |
| In office 1914–1915 | |
| Preceded by | Edwin Montagu |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Islington |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 August 1865 |
| Died | 25 June 1959 (aged 93) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse |
Lady Cecilia Maude Howard
(m. 1891; died 1947) |
| Children | Wilfrid Roberts Winifred Nicholson |
| Education | Marlborough College |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
Early life
Roberts was the son of Reverend Albert James Roberts, Vicar of Tidebrook, Sussex and Ellen Wace of Wadhurst, Sussex and was educated at Marlborough College and Balliol College, Oxford.[2]
He was a fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, where he taught from 1889 to 1895.
Career
He was the unsuccessful Liberal candidate for Wednesbury in the 1895 general election and for Lincoln in 1900. He was elected to Parliament for Lincoln in the 1906 general election and reelected in both elections in 1910.
He served under H. H. Asquith as Under-Secretary of State for India 1914 to 1915. He was then made both Comptroller of the Household and Chairman of the National Health Insurance Joint Committee from 1915 to 1916.
He lost his seat in 1918 when the Coalition Government gave endorsement to his Unionist opponent, but returned briefly to the House of Commons in 1922 when he was elected for Derby. However, he lost this seat in the 1923 general election and retired from national politics.
He afterwards committed himself to work creation schemes in Cumberland, reopening collieries and starting brickworks, limeworks and quarries. He also became involved in farming. From 1938–58 he was chairman of Cumberland County Council and the Cumberland branch of the National Farmers' Union. He also chaired the Aborigines' Protection Society. He was Chairman of the Cumberland War Agricultural Committee, 1939–47. He served as a Justice of the Peace in Cumberland from 1900 to 1950 and was Deputy Chairman of Cumberland Quarter Sessions until 1950.[2]
Personal life
On 7 April 1891, he was married Lady Cecilia Maude Howard, daughter of George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle.[3] They had one son and two daughters, including.
- Rosa Winifred Roberts (1893–1981), an artist who married the English painter Ben Nicholson.
- Wilfrid Hubert Wace Roberts (1900–1991), a Liberal MP who married three times.[4]
Lady Cecilia died in 1947.[5] Roberts died on 25 June 1959.
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Unionist | Charles Seely | 4,002 | 50.4 | ||
| Liberal | Charles Roberts | 3,935 | 49.6 | ||
| Majority | 67 | 0.8 | |||
| Turnout | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Roberts | 5,110 | 51.2 | +1.6 | |
| Liberal Unionist | Charles Seely | 3,718 | 37.2 | -3.2 | |
| Conservative | Henry Page Croft | 1,162 | 11.6 | n/a | |
| Majority | 1,392 | 14.0 | 14.8 | ||
| Turnout | 93.8 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +7.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Roberts | 5,402 | 50.2 | -1.0 | |
| Conservative | Robert Filmer | 3,236 | 30.1 | +18.5 | |
| Liberal Unionist | Charles Seely | 2,129 | 19.8 | -17.4 | |
| Majority | 2,166 | 20.1 | +6.1 | ||
| Turnout | 10,767 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Roberts | 5,484 | 52.9 | +2.7 | |
| Conservative | Robert Filmer | 4,878 | 47.1 | +17.0 | |
| Majority | 606 | 5.8 | -14.3 | ||
| Turnout | 10,362 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -7.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Alfred Davies | 11,114 | 47.7 | +0.6 | |
| Labour | Robert Taylor | 6,658 | 28.5 | n/a | |
| Liberal | Charles Roberts | 5,550 | 23.8 | -29.1 | |
| Majority | 4,456 | 19.2 | 25.0 | ||
| Turnout | 74.4 | ||||
| Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +14.8 | |||
References
- Tanner, Duncan (13 February 2003). Political Change and the Labour Party 1900-1918. ISBN 9780521530538.
- "Obituary of Charles Henry Roberts". The Times, Friday, Jun 26, 1959. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- "Carlisle, Earl of (E, 1661)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. 1931. p. 188.
- ‘ROBERTS, Charles Henry’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Dec 2013
- British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
- British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
- Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.