Harold Elverston

Sir Harold Elverston (26 December 1866 – 10 August 1941) was a British Liberal Party politician.

Background

He was born on 26 December 1866, the third son of James Booth Elverston of Heaton Chapel, Stockport. He was educated privately. He married in 1899, Josephine Taylor, daughter of J. J. Taylor of Rusholme, a newspaper proprietor. They had three sons.[1]

Career

He was a member of Manchester City Council. He served on the Executive Committee of the National Liberal Federation from 1906 to 1910. He served as Hon. Secretary of the Lancashire and Cheshire Liberal Federation from 1906 to 1925.

He served as a Justice of the Peace in Cheshire. He first stood for parliament when he contested the 1908 Worcester by-election, a seat that the Conservatives held. He was Liberal Member of Parliament for Gateshead from 1910 to 1918. Gateshead was a seat that the Liberals had won in 1906 with their candidate being sponsored by the Durham Miners' Association. The miners unions were independent until the Miners' Federation of Great Britain voted to affiliate to the Labour Party. They instructed all miners sponsored MPs to stand for re-election as Labour candidates and this is what happeneded in Gateshead. However, the local Liberal Association wanted a Liberal candidate to defend the seat and selected Elverston. He won the seat and the sitting Labour MP finished bottom of the poll;[2]

General election January 1910 Electorate 19,138
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Harold Elverston 6,800 40.7 +40.7
Liberal Unionist Nicholas Grattan-Doyle 6,323 37.9 +3.2
Labour John Johnson 3,572 21.4 -43.9
Majority 477 2.8
Turnout 87.2 +7.8
Liberal gain from Labour Swing +42.3

He held the seat at the following General Election shortly after;

General election December 1910 Electorate 19,138
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Harold Elverston 8,763 61.0 +20.3
Conservative Herbert Conyers Surtees 5,608 39.0 +1.1
Majority 3,155 22.0 +19.2
Turnout 75.1
Liberal hold Swing

He did not stand for parliament again.[3] He was knighted in 1911. He sought to defend his seat at the General Election at the end of the war but was up against a Unionist candidate who was supported by the Coalition Government. As a result, he finished bottom of the poll;

General election 1918 Electorate 55,443
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Brig-Gen. Herbert Conyers Surtees 17,215 56.9 +17.9
Labour John Brotherton 7,212 23.8 +23.8
Liberal Sir Harold Elverston 5,833 19.3 -41.7
Majority 10,003 33.1
Turnout 54.6
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing

He was elected as a member of Cheshire County Council in 1921. He again served on the Executive Committee of the National Liberal Federation from 1921 to 1925.

Outside politics he was a member of the Council of Manchester Royal College of Music. He was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Royal London Mutual Assurance Society. He was a Director of Mutual Finance Ltd.

Sources
  • Who Was Who
  • British parliamentary election results 1885–1918, Craig, F. W. S.

References
  1. Who Was Who
  2. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918, Craig, F. W. S.
  3. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
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