John Plowright Houfton
Encyclopedia
Sir John Plowright Houfton (13 December 1857 – 18 November 1929) was a British colliery owner and politician from Mansfield
in Nottinghamshire
. He sat in the House of Commons from 1922 to 1923.
Houfton first stood for election to Parliament
at a by-election in May 1914, when he was the Liberal Party
candidate for North East Derbyshire
. The vacancy had been caused by the death of the sitting Member of Parliament
(MP) William Harvey
, who had been a Liberal-Labour
candidate when first elected in 1907, and had held the seat with comfortable majorities at both elections in 1910. The local Liberal Association had sought to run another Liberal-Labour candidate, and were keen that James Martin, a prominent Liberal and President of the Derbyshire Miners Association, would be their candidate. However, Martin, who was keen to stand, was required by the MFGB to pledge support to the Labour Party
. The Liberals therefore had to find a different candidate, and the by-election became a three-way contest, with Liberal, Labour and Conservative Party candidates. Houfton lost by a margin to 314 votes (1.9%) to the Conservative candidate George Bowden, with Labour's James Martin polling 22.5% of the votes.
Houfton did not stand again until 1922, when the death of Sir J. D. Rees triggered a by-election in the Nottingham East
constituency. He was selected as the Coalition Unionist candidate (i.e. a Conservative standing in the support of the coalition government led by the Liberal David Lloyd George
). After a campaign described by The Times
newspaper as "strenuous", Houfton won the seat with 52% of the votes, and a majority of 4,973 (25%) over the second-placed Labour Co-operative
candidate. He was re-elected at the general election in December 1922
, but was defeated at the 1923 general election
by the Liberal candidate Norman Birkett.
In August 1926, after the general strike
1926, Houfton was strongly criticised by the Labour MP Frank Varley
for negotiating a separate deal with Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire coal miners, without the support of the Miners Federation of Great Britain.
He was knight
ed in the King's Birthday Honours in 1929, ""for political and public services".
Mansfield
Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. He sat in the House of Commons from 1922 to 1923.
Houfton first stood for election to Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
at a by-election in May 1914, when he was the 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...
candidate for North East Derbyshire
North East Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)
North East Derbyshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
. The vacancy had been caused by the death of the sitting 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) William Harvey
William Edwin Harvey
William Edwin Harvey , known as W. E. Harvey, was a British Lib-Lab Member of Parliament.Born in Hasland, Derbyshire, Harvey worked in a coal mine from the age of ten. He joined the South Yorkshire Miners' Association in 1869, and was a the union's local delegate by 1872...
, who had been a Liberal-Labour
Liberal-Labour (UK)
The Liberal–Labour movement refers to the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions...
candidate when first elected in 1907, and had held the seat with comfortable majorities at both elections in 1910. The local Liberal Association had sought to run another Liberal-Labour candidate, and were keen that James Martin, a prominent Liberal and President of the Derbyshire Miners Association, would be their candidate. However, Martin, who was keen to stand, was required by the MFGB to pledge support to the Labour Party
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...
. The Liberals therefore had to find a different candidate, and the by-election became a three-way contest, with Liberal, Labour and Conservative Party candidates. Houfton lost by a margin to 314 votes (1.9%) to the Conservative candidate George Bowden, with Labour's James Martin polling 22.5% of the votes.
Houfton did not stand again until 1922, when the death of Sir J. D. Rees triggered a by-election in the Nottingham East
Nottingham East (UK Parliament constituency)
Nottingham East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
constituency. He was selected as the Coalition Unionist candidate (i.e. a Conservative standing in the support of the coalition government led by the Liberal David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
). After a campaign described by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper as "strenuous", Houfton won the seat with 52% of the votes, and a majority of 4,973 (25%) over the second-placed Labour Co-operative
Labour Co-operative
Labour and Co-operative describes those candidates in British elections standing on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party, based on a national agreement between the two parties....
candidate. He was re-elected at the general election in December 1922
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...
, but was defeated at the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
by the Liberal candidate Norman Birkett.
In August 1926, after the general strike
1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
1926, Houfton was strongly criticised by the Labour MP Frank Varley
Frank Varley
Frank Bradley Varley was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected at the 1923 general election as Member of Parliament for Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, and held the seat until his death in 1929, aged 43...
for negotiating a separate deal with Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire coal miners, without the support of the Miners Federation of Great Britain.
He was knight
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
ed in the King's Birthday Honours in 1929, ""for political and public services".