David Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson
Encyclopedia
Henry David Reginald Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson PC (26 July 1890 – 24 December 1965) was a British Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician most popularly remembered for his tenure as Government Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...

 in the 1930s. His reputation was of a stern disciplinarian who was one of the harshest and most effective whips
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

. This assessment has, however, been challenged by some, who argue from weaknesses of his system, and the number of high-profile rebellion
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...

s during his tenure.

Background and education

Margesson was the son of Sir Mortimer Margesson and Lady Isabel, daughter of Frederick Hobart-Hampden, Lord Hobart and sister of Sidney Hobart-Hampden-Mercer-Henderson, 7th Earl of Buckinghamshire
Sidney Hobart-Hampden-Mercer-Henderson, 7th Earl of Buckinghamshire
Sidney Carr Hobart-Hampden-Mercer-Henderson, 7th Earl of Buckinghamshire OBE DL , known as Lord Hobart from 1875 to 1885, was a British Liberal politician....

. He grew up in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

 and was educated at Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...

 and Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...

. He did not complete his degree, choosing instead to seek his fortune in the United States of America. The First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 intervened in which Margesson served as an adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...

 in the 11th Hussars
11th Hussars
The 11th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army.-History:The regiment was founded in 1715 as Colonel Philip Honeywood's Regiment of Dragoons and was known by the name of its Colonel until 1751 when it became the 11th Regiment of Dragoons...

.

Early political career, 1922-1931

After the war Margesson entered politics at the suggestion of Lord Lee of Fareham
Arthur Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of Fareham
Arthur Hamilton Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of Fareham, GCB, GBE, GCSI, PC was a British soldier, diplomat, politician and patron of the arts. After military postings and an assignment to the British Embassy in Washington, he entered politics and served as Minster of Agriculture and Fisheries and First...

. In the 1922 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...

 he was elected as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Upton
Upton (UK Parliament constituency)
Upton was a parliamentary constituency in the Borough of West Ham in the South-West of Essex , which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.The constituency was created for the 1918...

. Very soon after his election he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...

 to the Minister of Labour
Secretary of State for Employment
The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment...

, Anderson Montague-Barlow
Sir Anderson Montague-Barlow, 1st Baronet
Sir Anderson Montague-Barlow, 1st Baronet KBE was an English barrister and Conservative Party politician....

. In the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

 he lost his seat, but at the 1924 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...

 he returned to Parliament for Rugby
Rugby (UK Parliament constituency)
Rugby is a parliamentary constituency in Warwickshire, England. It elects one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom using the first past the post system....

, the seat for which he would sit for the next eighteen years, defeating the future Liberal National
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)
The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...

 leader Ernest Brown
Ernest Brown
Alfred Ernest Brown CH was a British politician who served as leader of the Liberal Nationals from 1940 until 1945.-Biography:...

 in the process. Margesson was appointed as an Assistant Government Whip, then two years later he became a more senior whip with the title Junior Lord of the Treasury
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords .Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord...

. He held this until the Conservatives' defeat in the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

 and in August 1931 he was reappointed to the same position upon the formation of the National Government
UK National Government
In the United Kingdom the term National Government is an abstract concept referring to a coalition of some or all major political parties. In a historical sense it usually refers primarily to the governments of Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain which held office from 1931...

.

Government Chief Whip, 1931-1940

Following the November 1931 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...

 he was promoted to the senior position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial position in the British Government. The holder is usually the Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons. However, the office is no longer attached to the Treasury...

 (Government Chief Whip). Margesson's position was in many ways unprecedented, having the task of keeping in power a grouping composed of the Conservatives, National Labour and two groups of Liberals - the official Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 and the Liberal National Party
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)
The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...

 all behind a single government that sought to stand above partisan politics. With the government as whole commanding the support of five hundred and fifty-six MPs, as opposed to just fifty-eight opposition members, his main task was to ensure that the government stayed together and was able to pass contentious legislation without risking a major breach within the government. In several areas this proved tricky as different sections of the National combination came to denounce areas of government policy. Margesson adopted a method of strong disciplinarianism, combined with selective use of patronage and the social effect of ostracism to secure every vote possible. An example of his methods was his letter to the House of Commons' youngest member, the future minister John Profumo
John Profumo
Brigadier John Dennis Profumo, 5th Baron Profumo CBE , informally known as Jack Profumo , was a British politician. His title, 5th Baron, which he did not use, was Italian. Although Profumo held an increasingly responsible series of political posts in the 1950s, he is best known today for his...

, after the Norway Debate
Norway Debate
The Norway Debate, sometimes called the Narvik Debate, was a famous debate in the British House of Commons that took place in May 1940. It led to the formation of a widely-based National Government led by Winston Churchill which was to govern Britain until the end of World War II in Europe...

, in which Profumo had opposed his fellow-Tories. Margesson's letter included the following extraordinary passage: 'And I can tell you this, you utterly contemptible little shit. On every morning that you wake up for the rest of your life you will be ashamed of what you did last night.' On this occasion his methods failed.

Despite such behaviour, Margesson remained a much liked individual, with many members expressing personal admiration for him. Away from his duties he was known to be quite sociable; and within the parliamentary party; few bore him ill. A major faultline lay over the question of introducing protective tariffs
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...

 on imports as a prelude to negotiating a customs union
Imperial Preference
Imperial Preference was a proposed system of reciprocally-levelled tariffs or free trade agreements between the dominions and colonies within the British Empire...

 within the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

. This proposed policy had deeply divided the Conservatives over the previous thirty years, but by now they, along with most of the National Labour and Liberal National members of the government, had become in favour of the policy amidst the chaos of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

. However the Liberal Party remained committed to the principle of Free Trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...

 and were deeply reluctant to compromise. Whilst the Liberals themselves barely commanded the support of thirty-three MPs, they were one of only two parties in the government with a long independent history and there were fears that their withdrawal would turn the National Government into a mere Conservative rump, something the National Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....

 wished to avoid. At one stage it was agreed that members of the cabinet would suspend the principle of collective responsibility
Cabinet collective responsibility
Cabinet collective responsibility is constitutional convention in governments using the Westminster System that members of the Cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions made in Cabinet, even if they do not privately agree with them. This support includes voting for the government in...

 and "agree to differ" on the issue of tariffs. Matters were complicated further by the question of Cabinet appointments. When the Liberal President of the Board of Education
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
The Secretary of State for Education is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010, held by Michael Gove....

 Sir Donald Maclean died, Margesson insisted that to appoint another Liberal merely on the basis of party balance would inflame tensions amongst Conservative MPs, potentially lead to a poor appointment and maintain an imbalance since the Liberals had one more Cabinet Minister than the Liberal Nationals (and the National Labour Lord Privy Seal
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...

 Lord Snowden
Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden
Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden PC was a British politician and the first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, a position he held in 1924 and again between 1929 and 1931.-Early life: 1864–1906:...

 was increasingly siding with the Liberals on all key divisions, thus providing a surrogate), despite the latter having two more MPs. The appointment of the Conservative Lord Irwin
E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, , known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and as The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was one of the most senior British Conservative politicians of the 1930s, during which he held several senior ministerial posts, most notably as...

 upset the Liberals who could not secure an assurance that the next Cabinet vacancy would be filled by a Liberal.

In the summer of 1932 the Ottawa Agreement was negotiated between the Dominion Governments and Free Trade seemed a dead cause within government. In September the Liberals resigned their ministerial offices, though did not withdraw complete support for the government until the following November. However the National Government did not break up as the remaining National Labour and Liberal National elements remained in government. The government also came under fire from the Diehard wing of the Conservative Party over plans to implement Indian Home Rule. This policy was widely felt to be a hangover from the previous Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 government and one that few Conservative governments would have implemented. Many believed that the plan was only being pursued because of a desire to prove the government's non-partisan credentials and Conservative leader Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...

's determination to implement the policy. For some, the question of the success of the policy became a question of the survival of the National Government. Opponents to Indian Home Rule found several spokespersons, most notably Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

, and they harried the Government at every stage, culminating in a rebellion of nearly one hundred Conservative MPs voting against the third reading of the Bill — the single highest number of Conservatives to vote against a three line whip in the twentieth century. Despite this, the Bill passed overwhelmingly.

Margesson was retained as Chief Whip when Stanley Baldwin retook the Premiership in June 1935 and now had to face further rifts in the party over foreign policy and other matters. The government's majority was cut to two hundred and fifty in the November 1935 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...

 and the following month the leaking of the proposed Hoare-Laval Plan to grant two-thirds of Abyssinia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 to invading Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 provoked outrage amongst Conservative MPs. Margesson's reading of the mood led to the Foreign Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare being dropped from the government to abate feelings and keep the government in power. The late 1930s were a turbulent time within the National Government, with rebellions over foreign policy, over unemployment, over agriculture and other matters routinely threatened to rock the government. Margesson was instrumental in heading off many of these rebellions and performing damage limitation upon others. He was instrumental in warding these off for, first Baldwin, and then Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...

. However a well of discontent with the government's foreign policy grew, especially after Britain entered the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Eight months into the conflict, severe reverses in the Norwegian campaign
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...

 led to the two day "Norway Debate
Norway Debate
The Norway Debate, sometimes called the Narvik Debate, was a famous debate in the British House of Commons that took place in May 1940. It led to the formation of a widely-based National Government led by Winston Churchill which was to govern Britain until the end of World War II in Europe...

" of 7 and 8 May 1940 in which the government came under severe criticism from its own supporters and witnessed a massive rebellion on a motion of confidence. The government maintained a majority, but Margesson's soundings revealed that that majority was imperilled unless the political composition of the government was widened. When Chamberlain realised he was unable to achieve this he resigned and was succeeded by Winston Churchill.

Secretary of State for War, 1940-1942

Many were surprised that Churchill retained Margesson as Chief Whip, little realising that there was no personal animosity between the two and that Churchill would have had less regard for Margesson if he had not carried out his functions as Chief Whip. Margesson proved a useful buttress of support as Churchill consolidated his position in government and when at the end of 1940 the position of Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War
The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...

 fell vacant, Margesson was promoted to it. In this office Margesson proved competent and efficient, but when in February 1942 Britain suffered severe military setbacks, including the loss of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Churchill was forced to make changes to his ministerial team and find scapegoats for the disasters. Margesson was dropped and replaced by his own Permanent Under-Secretary Sir P. J. Grigg
P. J. Grigg
Sir Percy James Grigg PC , better known as Sir P. J. Grigg was a British civil servant who was surprisingly moved from being the Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the War Office to become Secretary of State for War, the political head of the same department during the Second World...

 — an unprecedented move. Margesson was first told of the change by Grigg himself, but accepted his fate as necessary for the government's future. Later that year he was made Viscount Margesson, of Rugby in the County of Warwick, and his political influence waned heavily. He subsequently worked in the City
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

.

Family

Lord Margesson married Frances, daughter of Francis Howard Leggett, in 1916. They had one son and two daughters but were divorced in 1940. Their second daughter the Hon. Gay married Lord Charteris of Amisfield
Martin Charteris, Baron Charteris of Amisfield
Martin Michael Charles Charteris, Baron Charteris of Amisfield, GCB, GCVO, OBE, QSO, PC was a courtier of Queen Elizabeth II....

. Lord Margesson died in December 1965, aged 75, and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his only son, Francis.

External links

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