Frederick Laverack

Frederick Joseph Laverack (1871 – 11 April 1928) was an English social worker, campaigner for the blind and Liberal Member of Parliament. He contested Brixton in London on four occasions in the 1920s, winning on one occasion.

Family and education

Frederick Joseph Laverack was born in Leeds, the younger son of George Laverack, grocer and tea merchant, and Elizabeth Turner. He was educated at St George's School, Leeds. Ranmoor College, Sheffield[1] and privately. He studied the law but did not pursue it as a profession. Laverack married Rose Roberts from Leeds and they had a son and two daughters.[2]

Career

Laverack qualified as a minister with the Congregational church and had pastorates in Dewsbury, Yorkshire[3] and later in Fulham. His chief social and philanthropic work was in assisting the blind. In 1916 he joined Sir Arthur Pearson the newspaper magnate and campaigner for the blind and organised the Blinded Soldiers’ Children Fund. He undertook the re-organisation of the Chaplains' Department of the National Institute for the Blind and was sometime Joint Secretary of the Greater London Fund for the Blind.[4] He was a former director and general organiser of the Association for the Promoting the General Welfare of the Blind [5] and was a highly successful fund-raiser for charitable purposes and well known as a speaker and lecturer on social causes.[6] By 1922 he was being described as a business expert and organiser.[7] He was also connected with the fund raising activities of the temperance organisation the Band of Hope Union.[8]

Politics

Anti Waste League

The Anti Waste League was founded by Lord Rothermere in 1921 and campaigned for reductions in government spending and taxation. Laverack was a member and was among the first list of candidates announced by the League to fight constituencies in London.[9] Laverack was selected to fight St Pancras North. As a result of the campaign, the anti-waste call was taken up more vigorously inside the Conservative Party[10] and the League was disbanded in 1922. Laverack gravitated to the Liberal Party.

1922-1924

Laverack was selected as Liberal candidate at the 1922 general election for the Brixton Division of Lambeth. The Anti-Waste League endorsed his candidacy [11] but Laverack could not dislodge the sitting Conservative MP Sir Davison Dalziel. He fought Dalziel again at the 1923 general election and was this time successful. In a straight fight he won Brixton by a majority of 1,405 votes. This position was reversed however at the 1924 general election when Laverack faced Labour as well as Tory opponents. Dalziel was re-elected and Laverack dropped to the foot of the poll behind Labour.[12]

General election 1922: Brixton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir Davison Alexander Dalziel 11,284 54.8 -6.5
Liberal Frederick Joseph Laverack 9,316 45.2 +29.1
Majority 1,968 9.6 -29.1
Turnout 39,004 52.8 +10.0
Unionist hold Swing -17.8
General election 1923: Brixton[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Frederick Joseph Laverack 10,881 53.5 +8.3
Unionist Sir Davison Alexander Dalziel 9,476 46.5 -8.3
Majority 1,405 7.0 16.6
Turnout 39,189 51.9 -0.9
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +8.3
General election 1924: Brixton[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir Davison Alexander Dalziel 15,755 56.6
Labour James Adams 7,210 25.9
Liberal Frederick Joseph Laverack 4,871 17.5
Majority 8,545 30.7
Turnout 40,134 69.4
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +18.9

Brixton by-election, 1927

In 1927 Dalziel was given a peerage and this caused a by-election in Brixton. Laverack was re-selected as Liberal candidate and there again faced a three-cornered contest against Conservative and Labour opponents. The by-election was held on 27 June 1927 and the Conservatives easily retained the seat with 48% of the poll. Lavarack was again in third place behind Labour. This was to prove his last attempt to re-enter Parliament.[16]

1927 Brixton by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Nigel Claudian Dalziel Colman 10,358 48.1
Labour James Adams 6,032 28.0
Liberal Frederick Joseph Laverack 5,134 23.9
Majority 4,326 20.1
Turnout 39,953 53.9
Unionist hold Swing -5.3

Death

Laverack died from heart disease at his home in Upper Norwood, Surrey on 11 April 1928.[17]

Publications
  • 1902: Life’s Asides. London: Arthur H. Stockwell
  • 1905: These Sayings of Mine: A Manual on the Beatitudes for Christian People. London: A. Brown & Sons

References
  1. The Liberal Year Book; Liberal Publication Dept., 1924
  2. Who was Who, OUP, 2007
  3. The Times, 15 April 1907 p8
  4. The Times, 13 April 1928 p6
  5. The Times, 23 March 1922 P9
  6. Who was Who, OUP 2007
  7. The Times, 7 November 1922 p14
  8. The Times, 28 July 1924 p9
  9. The Times, 25 July 1921 p15
  10. Chris Cook, Sources in British Political History, 1900-1951, Volume 1; Macmillan 1975 p11
  11. The Times, 31 October 1922 p7
  12. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p33
  13. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  14. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  15. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  16. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p33
  17. The Times, 13 April 1928 p6
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