Paddington North (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Paddington North was a borough constituency in the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington
in London
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. It was created in 1885
, and abolished for the February 1974 general election
.
It was a compact and mixed residential area which included some grand mansion blocks of flats, large runs of typical London terraced houses, and some areas of working class housing. The area moved slowly down the social scale during its existence and the construction of large amounts of social housing following the Second World War made what had been a Conservative-inclined marginal seat into a reasonably safe Labour one.
Parish. In the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
it was defined as the number 2 ward of the Parish. Although Paddington had four wards, they had been drawn up thirty years before and the number 2 ward had by the mid-1880s the majority of the electorate of the parish.
In the boundary changes in 1918, the constituency was refashioned as the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington
. The Borough had incorporated an area formerly included in a detached part of Chelsea
parish at Kensal Town, and further population expansion made the north of the Borough even more densely packed, so a shift of the boundary was required. In the end, it was decided to include the whole of the Harrow Road, Queen's Park and Maida Vale wards of Paddington, together with part of the Church ward north of the Harrow Road and Little Venice canal basin.
In the boundary changes of 1948, the constituency's boundaries did not change but the Church ward had been divided along the same line as the previous Parliamentary boundary with the part in Paddington North named as the Town ward.
of Paddington, the area was almost entirely residential. When first drawn up in 1885, the development of Maida Vale
had not yet been completed and parts remained agricultural fields.
Up to 1918 the constituency included Paddington railway station and the Paddington canal basin
, together with St Mary's Hospital
. The south-east of the constituency included some Edgware Road frontage which included the Metropolitan Theatre of Varieties music hall
, a famous entertainment centre which was open for almost all of the time that the constituency was in existence. Between the Harrow Road and the canals of Little Venice was a densely packed area developed in the 1840s around the older St. Mary's Church and its churchyard. This area included Paddington Green and some homes and was the origin of the settlement of Paddington.
North of the canal and stretching up Maida Vale itself were situated large detached houses with gardens. At the start of the constituency's existence most were occupied by a single family, but as time went on the families took in lodgers and eventually split their homes into flats. Along Maida Vale, the 1930s saw the building of new mansion blocks, a type of housing that already predominated along Elgin Avenue and some of the other streets from the time they were first built (typically, the first decade of the twentieth century).
The constituency descended the social scale as one travelled to the west, with the houses becoming smaller and more cheaply built; Shirland Road was the approximate boundary of the two zones. Between the canal and the Harrow Road above Little Venice was an area around Westbourne Square (actually triangular) which quickly became slumland, although this was not typical of the area north of the canal. Much of this area was lost to Paddington South in 1918. Further up Harrow Road, the homes were typical of London terraces. One unusual feature was J. Welford's dairies, built on the corner of Shirland Road and Elgin Avenue in the 1880s and one of the most distinctive buildings of the area.
Following the boundary revisions of 1918, the constituency included the area of Queen's Park ward of Paddington Borough Council which had previously been a detached part of Chelsea. This area was developed from the 1870s explicitly as housing for the working class, by the Artizans, Labourers, and General Dwellings Company. They built modestly sized two storey homes which were rented out to the skilled working-class, many of whom were railway employees at Paddington station and its associated goods yard.
The largest redevelopment took place along Maida Vale itself and was undertaken by the London County Council
from 1959 to 1964. The area was rebuilt as an estate of mid-rise and high-rise flats (three 21-storey tower blocks were built north of Elgin Avenue). At the same time, the Church Commissioners also built the Stuart Tower on the corner of Maida Vale and Sutherland Avenue for private ownership. Further north along Carlton Vale the LCC built low rise flats. The southern end of the constituency saw a great deal of demolition in order to build the Marylebone flyover and rebuild the Harrow Road.
The 1960s saw the GLC redevelop the area around the junction of Elgin Avenue with Harrow Road with two 20-storey tower blocks. It decided to experiment with a new construction method called 'Indulex' with these two blocks and two others to be built in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
. The blocks consisted of a steel frame clad in glass-reinforced polyester.
, the creation of a new division in north-west London which was potentially winnable by either the Conservatives or the Liberals excited some interest. The Conservatives were the first to select, and did so without difficulty. Lionel Louis Cohen was in his early 50s and a leading light in the City of London Conservative Association; he was also President of the Jewish Board of Guardians. Although he was a resident of Marylebone
, Cohen's wife came from Paddington. Cohen had the benefit of speeches from Lord Randolph Churchill
who had been selected for Paddington South.
The North Paddington Liberal Council did encounter difficulty in selecting a candidate. They sent out invitations to several likely candidates to speak to a public meeting: Henry Gladstone, younger son of Liberal Leader William Ewart Gladstone
, accepted, as did Thomas Chatfeild Clarke, John Westlake QC
, and Rev. William Sharman. However, Eugene Collins, whose constituency of Kinsale
was being abolished, refused to participate in a contested selection. The Council eventually selected none of these: William Digby, a writer, ended up fighting the seat. Digby was a strong advocate of greater power for India
n natives.
At the start of the election, it appeared that things were not going well for the Conservatives. A public meeting in support of Lionel Cohen heard a derisive mention made of Joseph Chamberlain
's promise of "three acres and a cow
" for the working class, and some cheered Chamberlain wildly. When the meeting concluded the chairman put a motion of confidence in their candidate, but on hearing that few present supported it, did not ask for people to show their opposition: the crowd demanded it and voted strongly against Cohen. On Monday November 7, 1885 a 2,000-strong crowd of working men gathered in the Harrow Road to march to a meeting which denounced Cohen for supporting protectionism
, although Cohen had declared his support for free trade in his election address.
At the end of the campaign an issue was made in the Jewish Chronicle of Cohen's support for the Marquess of Salisbury, who had opposed the removal of legal disabilities
affecting Jews in the 1850s. Cohen insisted that his activities in the Jewish community were not party political and denounced attempts to "pit one section of Jews against another"; later the Marquess of Salisbury was himself moved to write to condemn the attempt to drag in a speech he had made nearly 30 years before. Digby received the support of the local branch of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
at a meeting held on Praed Street
next to Paddington station.
As polling day approached the Conservatives became more confident of victory, believing that the Roman Catholic, Jewish and Church of England blocks of votes were likely to be solid in support of Cohen. The nonconformists were also strong in the division and so the Liberals were also reporting confidence. On polling day it turned out that the Conservatives had the majority, although with a lead of only 685, the seat was evidently not safe.
At this election, the Irish vote switched sides: having backed the Conservatives in 1885 during a temporary alliance over opposition to the Liberal budget, Gladstone's announcement of his support for home rule for Ireland led to strong support for the Liberals. The Irish vote in Paddington North was sizable and Cohen's denunciation of home rule together with Kempster's support for it had its effect in reducing the impact of a strong national trend towards the Conservatives. Cohen was re-elected with a 911 vote majority.
while on holiday in Nice
. He returned to Britain to recuperate, but was thought by his doctor to have returned to work too early. He died of coronary thrombosis
on June 26, 1887, thereby forcing a byelection. Paddington North Conservatives quickly (on June 28) invited John Aird to defend the seat. Aird had nearly 40 years of experience as a public works contractor and engineer, and was a Paddington local; Aird accepted. Paddington North Liberals chose Edmund Routledge, a member of the Routledge
publishing family.
The major issue was still home rule for Ireland. The Liberals felt that they had done too little to promote and defend their policy in 1886 and determined to remedy the deficiency. At the same time, Routledge also said that he believed Ireland under home rule should continue to send MPs to the United Kingdom Parliament. This commitment was enough for George Trevelyan, a leading member of the Liberal Unionists to send him a letter of support: there was still hope at the time of the byelection of a reunion of the Liberal Party. However, the Marquess of Hartington
, another Liberal Unionist, endorsed Aird.
Late in the campaign, and on polling day a rumour circulated that Aird's company was a large employer of foreign labour to enable it to compete against British firms. The rumour appears to have been false. The election result showed that the situation in North Paddington had shifted to the Liberals since 1886, but not enough to endanger the Conservatives' hold on the seat.
Terrell attracted support from the Paddington Local Option Union, which campaigned for temperance
and legal restrictions on alcohol sales to be imposed by local authorities. However when the Local Option Union circulated a pamphlet attacking Aird, the senior members of the Local Option Union whose names were attached protested that they had not approved it, and it had to be withdrawn. Although Terrell managed to improve on the performance at the 1887 byelection, he was still 310 votes short of winning.
from Paddington but was a Conservative: Moberley pointed this out at the end of the campaign.
Aird strongly attacked the record of the previous Liberal government whose resignation had forced the election, which he insisted had spent too much time discussing abstract constitutional ideas and too little time discussing "constructive social reform". He supported a moderate move towards women's suffrage, whereby a widow or spinster (if a householder) could vote. In line with the national trend, Aird increased his majority to just under 1,000.
and support for temperance. Aird was readopted and attacked the Liberals for adopting socialistic policies which would hurt trade; he supported the government on its approach in South Africa.
Aird also supported conciliation in industry in order to avoid strike action. Local labour interest was however on the side of Fordham, who received the endorsement of the Shop Assistants' Union after giving favourable answers to questions. Fordham's spirited campaign however failed to fit with the priorities of the voters, who increased Aird's majority.
However, Phillips' active business interests (he was a Director of several South African companies including the Central Mining and Investment Corporation Ltd and the Village Main Reef Gold Mining Company Ltd) left him no time to nurse the constituency and in August 1905 he gave up the candidature. At first the Conservatives invited John Aird, son of the sitting Member, to fight the seat, but as Aird had already been selected for Southampton
he declined. Finally, the Conservatives found a candidate in the shape of Arthur Strauss
, a metal merchant and former MP for Camborne
, although a minority group at the adoption meeting preferred Herbert Jessel, 1st Baron Jessel
: Strauss prevailed by 70 votes to 28.
Without difficulty the Paddington North Liberal Council chose Leo Chiozza Money
, an economist and journalist who was a rising star in the party nationally with some degree of fame. His fight to finally win the seat for Liberalism attracted attention outside the constituency and Liberal headquarters assisted by prioritising the seat. Money was aided by Dr Clifford who had become nationally famous for leading passive resistance to the Education Act 1903 (refusing to pay taxes, among other protests).
The fact that Leo Chiozza Money was from Genoa
and Strauss was Jewish led to the establishment of a committee of local electors led by Col. Stewart and Alfred Darch who declared "the present position of the voters in the division has been rendered intolerable by the action of the Liberal and Conservative Associations, each having made the grievous mistake of failing to nominate an Englishman as a candidate for the constituency". With a general election imminent in December 1905, they signed a requisition to Sir Henry Burdett to stand as an Independent Unionist candidate. Burdett accepted, being careful to say that he did not object to Strauss on the grounds of being a Jew but merely as a foreigner. Another point of differenece was that Strauss was a supporter of Tariff Reform while Burdett was a supporter of Free Trade.
One of Burdett's meetings was very rowdy and a number of the attendees complained of having been robbed there.
When supporters of Burdett claimed that he ought to be considered the proper Conservative candidate, the former Mayor of Paddington William Urquhart (a leader of the Jessel faction) wrote to the newspapers to object that Strauss had been properly selected and attacking the Burdett camp for splitting the vote. Strauss' election address attacked Burdett in such terms that Burdett issued writs against him and the local newspapers for Corrupt Practices. A leaflet was also circulated by Dr Clifford refuting the implication that Chiozza Money was an atheist
. On polling day, Chiozza Money managed to win the seat easily, polling more than Strauss and Burdett combined.
Strauss again put himself forward as a Tariff reform candidate, and the adoption of protective tariffs by Germany
, the United States of America and some British colonies became a central part of his argument. Chiozza Money's experience as an economist led to him being praised by Winston Churchill
(then a Liberal) for knowing the issues better than any; he had also become popular among the workingmen of the Harrow Road. A close fight was again in prospect. In the event, Strauss managed to regain the seat by nearly 900 votes.
A curious set of legal cases arose from this election. On December 27, 1909 PC Gregory of Paddington and another officer were attacked by three men who were subsequently convicted of Grievous Bodily Harm and assault. During the election, the Liberals sent round a leaflet claiming the three were sent to Chiozza Money's election meetings to shout him down, and blaming the men's landlord George Steer. Steer sued the printers of the leaflet, and the Liberal agent, for libel. The special jury found for Steer and awarded damages of £100.
).
The Association were unsuccessful in trying to persuade Chiozza Money to reconsider. The Liberals therefore selected instead James Fairbank, a member of Paddington Borough Council who had narrowly been defeated at the London County Council election of 1910. However, Fairbank withdrew due to ill health in July and instead Leonard Franklin (Chairman of North Paddington Liberal Association since 1908) was picked. This made Paddington North one of only two constituencies (St Pancras South was the other) where both candidates were Jewish.
Strauss spent the short time of the Parliament arranging for a party of ten constituents to visit Germany to see the effect of protective tariffs. The constituency was strongly fought, and Strauss emerged victorious, with his majority slightly reduced to 589.
:
:
Following the resignation of William J. Field
:
Following the death of Ben Parkin
:
Metropolitan Borough of Paddington
The Metropolitan Borough of Paddington was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965.-History:Its area covered that part of the current City of Westminster west of Edgware Road and Maida Vale, and north of Bayswater Road. Places in the borough included Paddington,...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
which returned one 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,...
to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
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...
, elected by the first past the post voting system. It was created in 1885
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...
, and abolished for the February 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
.
It was a compact and mixed residential area which included some grand mansion blocks of flats, large runs of typical London terraced houses, and some areas of working class housing. The area moved slowly down the social scale during its existence and the construction of large amounts of social housing following the Second World War made what had been a Conservative-inclined marginal seat into a reasonably safe Labour one.
Boundaries
The constituency was originally made up by the northern part of PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
Parish. In the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...
it was defined as the number 2 ward of the Parish. Although Paddington had four wards, they had been drawn up thirty years before and the number 2 ward had by the mid-1880s the majority of the electorate of the parish.
In the boundary changes in 1918, the constituency was refashioned as the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington
Metropolitan Borough of Paddington
The Metropolitan Borough of Paddington was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965.-History:Its area covered that part of the current City of Westminster west of Edgware Road and Maida Vale, and north of Bayswater Road. Places in the borough included Paddington,...
. The Borough had incorporated an area formerly included in a detached part of Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
parish at Kensal Town, and further population expansion made the north of the Borough even more densely packed, so a shift of the boundary was required. In the end, it was decided to include the whole of the Harrow Road, Queen's Park and Maida Vale wards of Paddington, together with part of the Church ward north of the Harrow Road and Little Venice canal basin.
In the boundary changes of 1948, the constituency's boundaries did not change but the Church ward had been divided along the same line as the previous Parliamentary boundary with the part in Paddington North named as the Town ward.
Description
In contrast to the southern divisionPaddington South (UK Parliament constituency)
Paddington South was a Parliamentary constituency in London which returned one Member of Parliament. It was a compact urban area, but predominantly wealthy, and was most famously represented by Lord Randolph Churchill during the latter part of his career....
of Paddington, the area was almost entirely residential. When first drawn up in 1885, the development of Maida Vale
Maida Vale
Maida Vale is a residential district in West London between St John's Wood and Kilburn. It is part of the City of Westminster. The area is mostly residential, and mainly affluent, consisting of many large late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats...
had not yet been completed and parts remained agricultural fields.
Up to 1918 the constituency included Paddington railway station and the Paddington canal basin
Paddington Basin
Paddington Basin is an area of Paddington, London named after the nearby canal basin.The junction of the Regent's Canal and the Grand Junction Canal is close to this point but the basin itself is the terminus of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Junction Canal. It was opened in 1801...
, together with St Mary's Hospital
St Mary's Hospital (London)
St Mary's Hospital is a hospital located in Paddington, London, England that was founded in 1845. Since the UK's first academic health science centre was created in 2008, it is operated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which also operates Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith Hospital,...
. The south-east of the constituency included some Edgware Road frontage which included the Metropolitan Theatre of Varieties music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
, a famous entertainment centre which was open for almost all of the time that the constituency was in existence. Between the Harrow Road and the canals of Little Venice was a densely packed area developed in the 1840s around the older St. Mary's Church and its churchyard. This area included Paddington Green and some homes and was the origin of the settlement of Paddington.
North of the canal and stretching up Maida Vale itself were situated large detached houses with gardens. At the start of the constituency's existence most were occupied by a single family, but as time went on the families took in lodgers and eventually split their homes into flats. Along Maida Vale, the 1930s saw the building of new mansion blocks, a type of housing that already predominated along Elgin Avenue and some of the other streets from the time they were first built (typically, the first decade of the twentieth century).
The constituency descended the social scale as one travelled to the west, with the houses becoming smaller and more cheaply built; Shirland Road was the approximate boundary of the two zones. Between the canal and the Harrow Road above Little Venice was an area around Westbourne Square (actually triangular) which quickly became slumland, although this was not typical of the area north of the canal. Much of this area was lost to Paddington South in 1918. Further up Harrow Road, the homes were typical of London terraces. One unusual feature was J. Welford's dairies, built on the corner of Shirland Road and Elgin Avenue in the 1880s and one of the most distinctive buildings of the area.
Following the boundary revisions of 1918, the constituency included the area of Queen's Park ward of Paddington Borough Council which had previously been a detached part of Chelsea. This area was developed from the 1870s explicitly as housing for the working class, by the Artizans, Labourers, and General Dwellings Company. They built modestly sized two storey homes which were rented out to the skilled working-class, many of whom were railway employees at Paddington station and its associated goods yard.
Changes and redevelopment
With the area being encircled by London, there came to be an economic motive for demolishing some of the existing low-density housing and rebuilding at higher densities for the working class. In 1937 the Church Commissioners built Dibden House containing some 200 flats for social rents at the top of Maida Vale. Following the Second World War there was a great deal of development of large social housing in the constituency. The first large development was John Aird Court and Fleming Court, built by the Labour-controlled Paddington Borough Council adjacent to the Harrow Road by Paddington Green in 1948.The largest redevelopment took place along Maida Vale itself and was undertaken by the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
from 1959 to 1964. The area was rebuilt as an estate of mid-rise and high-rise flats (three 21-storey tower blocks were built north of Elgin Avenue). At the same time, the Church Commissioners also built the Stuart Tower on the corner of Maida Vale and Sutherland Avenue for private ownership. Further north along Carlton Vale the LCC built low rise flats. The southern end of the constituency saw a great deal of demolition in order to build the Marylebone flyover and rebuild the Harrow Road.
The 1960s saw the GLC redevelop the area around the junction of Elgin Avenue with Harrow Road with two 20-storey tower blocks. It decided to experiment with a new construction method called 'Indulex' with these two blocks and two others to be built in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
. The blocks consisted of a steel frame clad in glass-reinforced polyester.
1885
In preparation for the 1885 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
, the creation of a new division in north-west London which was potentially winnable by either the Conservatives or the Liberals excited some interest. The Conservatives were the first to select, and did so without difficulty. Lionel Louis Cohen was in his early 50s and a leading light in the City of London Conservative Association; he was also President of the Jewish Board of Guardians. Although he was a resident of Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
, Cohen's wife came from Paddington. Cohen had the benefit of speeches from Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry...
who had been selected for Paddington South.
The North Paddington Liberal Council did encounter difficulty in selecting a candidate. They sent out invitations to several likely candidates to speak to a public meeting: Henry Gladstone, younger son of Liberal Leader William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, accepted, as did Thomas Chatfeild Clarke, John Westlake QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, and Rev. William Sharman. However, Eugene Collins, whose constituency of Kinsale
Kinsale (UK Parliament constituency)
Kinsale was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.-Boundaries:...
was being abolished, refused to participate in a contested selection. The Council eventually selected none of these: William Digby, a writer, ended up fighting the seat. Digby was a strong advocate of greater power for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n natives.
At the start of the election, it appeared that things were not going well for the Conservatives. A public meeting in support of Lionel Cohen heard a derisive mention made of Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
's promise of "three acres and a cow
Three acres and a cow
Three acres and a cow was a slogan used among land reform campaigners of the 1880s, and revived by the distributists of the 1920s. It refers to ideal land holding for every citizen....
" for the working class, and some cheered Chamberlain wildly. When the meeting concluded the chairman put a motion of confidence in their candidate, but on hearing that few present supported it, did not ask for people to show their opposition: the crowd demanded it and voted strongly against Cohen. On Monday November 7, 1885 a 2,000-strong crowd of working men gathered in the Harrow Road to march to a meeting which denounced Cohen for supporting protectionism
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...
, although Cohen had declared his support for free trade in his election address.
At the end of the campaign an issue was made in the Jewish Chronicle of Cohen's support for the Marquess of Salisbury, who had opposed the removal of legal disabilities
Disabilities (Jewish)
Disabilities were legal restrictions and limitations placed on Jews in the Middle Ages. They included provisions requiring Jews to wear specific and identifying clothing such as the Jewish hat and the yellow badge, restricting Jews to certain cities and towns or in certain parts of towns , and...
affecting Jews in the 1850s. Cohen insisted that his activities in the Jewish community were not party political and denounced attempts to "pit one section of Jews against another"; later the Marquess of Salisbury was himself moved to write to condemn the attempt to drag in a speech he had made nearly 30 years before. Digby received the support of the local branch of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
The Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom from 1872 until 1913.The ASRS was an industrial union founded in 1871 with the support of the Liberal MP Michael Bass. Its early years were difficult...
at a meeting held on Praed Street
Praed Street
Praed Street is a street in London's Paddington district , most notable for the fact that Paddington Station is situated on it. It runs straight in a west-south-westerly direction from Edgware Road to Craven Road, Spring Street and Eastbourne Terrace.-History:Praed Street was originally laid out in...
next to Paddington station.
As polling day approached the Conservatives became more confident of victory, believing that the Roman Catholic, Jewish and Church of England blocks of votes were likely to be solid in support of Cohen. The nonconformists were also strong in the division and so the Liberals were also reporting confidence. On polling day it turned out that the Conservatives had the majority, although with a lead of only 685, the seat was evidently not safe.
1886
As an election loomed in June 1886, Lionel Cohen declared his intention to fight the seat again. Almost simultaneously, William Digby announced that he would not be a candidate again. The Paddington North Liberals therefore invited John Kempster, who had fought Enfield at the 1885 election, to be their candidate. Kempster was a Director of the Artizans, Labourers, and General Dwellings Company Ltd and therefore a popular man among the working class in the constituency.At this election, the Irish vote switched sides: having backed the Conservatives in 1885 during a temporary alliance over opposition to the Liberal budget, Gladstone's announcement of his support for home rule for Ireland led to strong support for the Liberals. The Irish vote in Paddington North was sizable and Cohen's denunciation of home rule together with Kempster's support for it had its effect in reducing the impact of a strong national trend towards the Conservatives. Cohen was re-elected with a 911 vote majority.
1887
In 1887 Lionel Cohen was taken ill with pleurisyPleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
while on holiday in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
. He returned to Britain to recuperate, but was thought by his doctor to have returned to work too early. He died of coronary thrombosis
Coronary thrombosis
Coronary thrombosis is a form of thrombosis affecting the coronary circulation. It is associated with stenosis subsequent to clotting. The condition is considered as a type of ischaemic heart disease.It can lead to a myocardial infarction...
on June 26, 1887, thereby forcing a byelection. Paddington North Conservatives quickly (on June 28) invited John Aird to defend the seat. Aird had nearly 40 years of experience as a public works contractor and engineer, and was a Paddington local; Aird accepted. Paddington North Liberals chose Edmund Routledge, a member of the Routledge
Routledge
Routledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
publishing family.
The major issue was still home rule for Ireland. The Liberals felt that they had done too little to promote and defend their policy in 1886 and determined to remedy the deficiency. At the same time, Routledge also said that he believed Ireland under home rule should continue to send MPs to the United Kingdom Parliament. This commitment was enough for George Trevelyan, a leading member of the Liberal Unionists to send him a letter of support: there was still hope at the time of the byelection of a reunion of the Liberal Party. However, the Marquess of Hartington
Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire
Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire KG, GCVO, PC, PC , styled Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1834 and 1858 and Marquess of Hartington between 1858 and 1891, was a British statesman...
, another Liberal Unionist, endorsed Aird.
Late in the campaign, and on polling day a rumour circulated that Aird's company was a large employer of foreign labour to enable it to compete against British firms. The rumour appears to have been false. The election result showed that the situation in North Paddington had shifted to the Liberals since 1886, but not enough to endanger the Conservatives' hold on the seat.
1892
The Liberals had hopes of winning the general election of 1892, having rebuilt their strength after the split of 1886. Paddington North Liberals adopted Thomas Terrell, a barrister who had trained as an analytical chemist and also wrote novels and had stood in Devonport in 1885. Terrell started his attempt to dislodge Aird early, and held large public meetings outlining the Gladstone "London Programme". This campaign was populist and attacked landlords for failing to financially support government institutions in the capital.Terrell attracted support from the Paddington Local Option Union, which campaigned for temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
and legal restrictions on alcohol sales to be imposed by local authorities. However when the Local Option Union circulated a pamphlet attacking Aird, the senior members of the Local Option Union whose names were attached protested that they had not approved it, and it had to be withdrawn. Although Terrell managed to improve on the performance at the 1887 byelection, he was still 310 votes short of winning.
1895
The 1895 election happened suddenly. The Paddington North Liberals fell back on a local candidate: their chairman George H. Maberly. On April 25, 1895 he was presented (by Dr John Clifford, a local Baptist Minister) with a silver tray and a framed address in honour of his service and invited to be the next Liberal candidate. Maberly was reluctant due to personal difficulties with the work, but at a meeting on June 27 he accepted. Maberly's name was similar to that of Major-General Moberly who sat on the London School BoardLondon School Board
The School Board for London was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London....
from Paddington but was a Conservative: Moberley pointed this out at the end of the campaign.
Aird strongly attacked the record of the previous Liberal government whose resignation had forced the election, which he insisted had spent too much time discussing abstract constitutional ideas and too little time discussing "constructive social reform". He supported a moderate move towards women's suffrage, whereby a widow or spinster (if a householder) could vote. In line with the national trend, Aird increased his majority to just under 1,000.
1900
For the 1900 election, Wilfrid Fordham was unanimously adopted as Liberal candidate. He was a young barrister and nephew of Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Liberal MP for Cockermouth, with whom he shared his politics: his two main policies in the election were opposition to the South African warSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
and support for temperance. Aird was readopted and attacked the Liberals for adopting socialistic policies which would hurt trade; he supported the government on its approach in South Africa.
Aird also supported conciliation in industry in order to avoid strike action. Local labour interest was however on the side of Fordham, who received the endorsement of the Shop Assistants' Union after giving favourable answers to questions. Fordham's spirited campaign however failed to fit with the priorities of the voters, who increased Aird's majority.
1906
Aird was in his late 60s after the 1900 election. At the end of 1902 a rumour circulated that he would not be fighting the next election, and that the Paddington Conservative Association had in mind a South African millionaire as their new candidate. Aird denied the rumour, but in July 1904 at the age of 70 he announced that he would give up the seat owing to growing inability to perform his duties. After a committee was appointed to find a candidate, on December 12, 1904 the Executive recommended Lionel Phillips to a general meeting of the Association. Phillips was duly adopted on December 21.However, Phillips' active business interests (he was a Director of several South African companies including the Central Mining and Investment Corporation Ltd and the Village Main Reef Gold Mining Company Ltd) left him no time to nurse the constituency and in August 1905 he gave up the candidature. At first the Conservatives invited John Aird, son of the sitting Member, to fight the seat, but as Aird had already been selected for Southampton
Southampton (UK Parliament constituency)
Southampton was a parliamentary constituency which was represented in the British House of Commons. Centred on the town of Southampton, it returned two Members of Parliament from 1295 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election....
he declined. Finally, the Conservatives found a candidate in the shape of Arthur Strauss
Arthur Strauss
Arthur Strauss was a British Liberal Unionist, and later Conservative Member of Parliament who later joined the Labour Party....
, a metal merchant and former MP for Camborne
Camborne (UK Parliament constituency)
Camborne was a county constituency in Cornwall which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, although a minority group at the adoption meeting preferred Herbert Jessel, 1st Baron Jessel
Baron Jessel
Baron Jessel, of Westminster in the County of London, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 January 1924 for Sir Herbert Jessell, 1st Baronet, who had earlier represented St Pancras South in Parliament as a Liberal Unionist from 1896 to 1906 and as a Conservative...
: Strauss prevailed by 70 votes to 28.
Without difficulty the Paddington North Liberal Council chose Leo Chiozza Money
Leo Chiozza Money
Sir Leo George Chiozza Money , born Leone Giorgio Chiozza, was an Italian-born economic theorist who moved to Britain in the 1890s, where he made his name as a politician, journalist and author. In the early years of the 20th century his views attracted the interest of two future Prime Ministers,...
, an economist and journalist who was a rising star in the party nationally with some degree of fame. His fight to finally win the seat for Liberalism attracted attention outside the constituency and Liberal headquarters assisted by prioritising the seat. Money was aided by Dr Clifford who had become nationally famous for leading passive resistance to the Education Act 1903 (refusing to pay taxes, among other protests).
The fact that Leo Chiozza Money was from Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and Strauss was Jewish led to the establishment of a committee of local electors led by Col. Stewart and Alfred Darch who declared "the present position of the voters in the division has been rendered intolerable by the action of the Liberal and Conservative Associations, each having made the grievous mistake of failing to nominate an Englishman as a candidate for the constituency". With a general election imminent in December 1905, they signed a requisition to Sir Henry Burdett to stand as an Independent Unionist candidate. Burdett accepted, being careful to say that he did not object to Strauss on the grounds of being a Jew but merely as a foreigner. Another point of differenece was that Strauss was a supporter of Tariff Reform while Burdett was a supporter of Free Trade.
One of Burdett's meetings was very rowdy and a number of the attendees complained of having been robbed there.
When supporters of Burdett claimed that he ought to be considered the proper Conservative candidate, the former Mayor of Paddington William Urquhart (a leader of the Jessel faction) wrote to the newspapers to object that Strauss had been properly selected and attacking the Burdett camp for splitting the vote. Strauss' election address attacked Burdett in such terms that Burdett issued writs against him and the local newspapers for Corrupt Practices. A leaflet was also circulated by Dr Clifford refuting the implication that Chiozza Money was an atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. On polling day, Chiozza Money managed to win the seat easily, polling more than Strauss and Burdett combined.
January 1910
Despite the loss of the seat, the Paddington North Conservative Association again looked Arthur Strauss again as their candidate. Opposition to Strauss persisted and the dissenting members petitioned Conservative Central Office in October 1909 as an election began to look imminent; Central Office refused to intervene, and the members set up the 'League of Patriotic Electors of North Paddington'. Having thus departed from the Conservative Association, Strauss was adopted as Conservative candidate without difficulty on December 14, 1909. The League of Patriotic Electors eventually decided not to fight, due to the sudden constitutional crisis over the rejection of the 1909 budget.Strauss again put himself forward as a Tariff reform candidate, and the adoption of protective tariffs by Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the United States of America and some British colonies became a central part of his argument. Chiozza Money's experience as an economist led to him being praised by 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...
(then a Liberal) for knowing the issues better than any; he had also become popular among the workingmen of the Harrow Road. A close fight was again in prospect. In the event, Strauss managed to regain the seat by nearly 900 votes.
A curious set of legal cases arose from this election. On December 27, 1909 PC Gregory of Paddington and another officer were attacked by three men who were subsequently convicted of Grievous Bodily Harm and assault. During the election, the Liberals sent round a leaflet claiming the three were sent to Chiozza Money's election meetings to shout him down, and blaming the men's landlord George Steer. Steer sued the printers of the leaflet, and the Liberal agent, for libel. The special jury found for Steer and awarded damages of £100.
December 1910
It became obvious very soon after the January 1910 election that a second general election may have to happen to resolve the constitutional crisis. Chiozza Money, out of Parliament, was an attractive prospect for any Liberal Association seeking a candidate. He was considered for a byelection in a safe seat in Glamorgan in March 1910, but ruled himself out. Simultaneously he wrote to the North Paddington Liberals informing them that he would not fight their seat again (he was subsequently adopted for East NorthamptonshireEast Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency)
East Northamptonshire was a county constituency in Northamptonshire, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
).
The Association were unsuccessful in trying to persuade Chiozza Money to reconsider. The Liberals therefore selected instead James Fairbank, a member of Paddington Borough Council who had narrowly been defeated at the London County Council election of 1910. However, Fairbank withdrew due to ill health in July and instead Leonard Franklin (Chairman of North Paddington Liberal Association since 1908) was picked. This made Paddington North one of only two constituencies (St Pancras South was the other) where both candidates were Jewish.
Strauss spent the short time of the Parliament arranging for a party of ten constituents to visit Germany to see the effect of protective tariffs. The constituency was strongly fought, and Strauss emerged victorious, with his majority slightly reduced to 589.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member !! Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:... |
Lionel Cohen Lionel Louis Cohen Lionel Louis Cohen was an English financier, politician, and communal worker. He remarried 3 times before his death. He served as a trustee and later manager of the London Stock Exchange, and became the head of his father's firm Louis Cohen & Sons... |
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... |
|
| 1887 by-election | Sir John Aird, Bt | 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... |
|
| 1906 United Kingdom general election, 1906 -Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**... |
Leo Money Leo Chiozza Money Sir Leo George Chiozza Money , born Leone Giorgio Chiozza, was an Italian-born economic theorist who moved to Britain in the 1890s, where he made his name as a politician, journalist and author. In the early years of the 20th century his views attracted the interest of two future Prime Ministers,... |
Liberal 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... |
|
| Jan 1910 | Arthur Strauss Arthur Strauss Arthur Strauss was a British Liberal Unionist, and later Conservative Member of Parliament who later joined the Labour Party.... |
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... |
|
| 1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did... |
Sir William Perring William Perring Sir William George Perring was a British Conservative politician.He was first elected to the House of Commons at the 1918 general election as Member of Parliament for Paddington North, when he stood as a Coalition Conservative... |
Coalition Conservative | |
| 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... |
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... |
||
| 1929 United Kingdom general election, 1929 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***... |
Brendan Bracken Brendan Bracken, 1st Viscount Bracken Brendan Randell Bracken, 1st Viscount Bracken PC was an Irish businessman and a minister in the British Conservative cabinet. Primarily, the 1st Viscount Bracken is remembered for opposing the Bank of England's co-operation with Adolf Hitler, and for subsequently supporting Winston Churchill's... |
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... |
|
| 1945 United Kingdom general election, 1945 The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to... |
Sir Noel Mason-Macfarlane Noel Mason-Macfarlane Lieutenant General Sir Frank Noel Mason-Macfarlane, KCB, DSO, MC was a British soldier, administrator and politician who served as Governor of Gibraltar during World War II.-Military career:... |
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... |
|
| 1946 by-election | William Field William J. Field William James Field was a British politician who found his career ruined by a conviction for "importuning for immoral purposes" in the 1950s. He was Labour Member of Parliament for Paddington North from 1946 to 1953.... |
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... |
|
| 1954 by-election | Ben Parkin Ben Parkin Benjamin Theaker Parkin was a British teacher and politician who served as Member of Parliament for Stroud and for Paddington North... |
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... |
|
| 1969 by-election Paddington North by-election, 1969 The Paddington North by-election, 1969 was a by-election to the British House of Commons for the constituency of Paddington North. It was necessitated by the death of sitting MP Ben Parkin... |
Arthur Latham Arthur Latham Arthur Charles Latham is a British Labour Party politician.Latham was elected Member of Parliament for Paddington North in a 1969 by-election, which he served until 1974 when the seat was abolished in boundary changes... |
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... |
|
| Feb 1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,... |
constituency abolished: see Paddington Paddington (UK Parliament constituency) Paddington was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Paddington district of London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.... |
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Elections
Following the death of Lionel CohenLionel Louis Cohen
Lionel Louis Cohen was an English financier, politician, and communal worker. He remarried 3 times before his death. He served as a trustee and later manager of the London Stock Exchange, and became the head of his father's firm Louis Cohen & Sons...
:
Boundary and suffrage changes occurred at this point
Suffrage changes occurred at this point
Following the resignation of Sir Noel Mason-MacfarlaneNoel Mason-Macfarlane
Lieutenant General Sir Frank Noel Mason-Macfarlane, KCB, DSO, MC was a British soldier, administrator and politician who served as Governor of Gibraltar during World War II.-Military career:...
:
Following the resignation of William J. Field
William J. Field
William James Field was a British politician who found his career ruined by a conviction for "importuning for immoral purposes" in the 1950s. He was Labour Member of Parliament for Paddington North from 1946 to 1953....
:
Following the death of Ben Parkin
Ben Parkin
Benjamin Theaker Parkin was a British teacher and politician who served as Member of Parliament for Stroud and for Paddington North...
: