William Henry Flanagan
Encyclopedia
William Henry Flanagan was an English wadding and wool merchant and a Conservative and Unionist Party
politician. He was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Manchester Clayton
twice, from 1922 to 1923 from 1931 to 1935.
Flanagan was born in Manchester
on 8 April 1871, the son of Willian and Emma Flanagan. His father was a wadding manufacturer and Flanagan who started as an apprentice followed his father into the wadding business. He married Lilian Mary Ashley in 1899.
On 15 January 1922 Edward Hopkinson
, Member of Parliament for Manchester Clayton
, died and Flanagan was adopted as Coalition Unionist candidate for the resulting by-election. Flanagan is described as the Managing Director of the Imperial Patent Wadding Company Limited.
Flanagan was beaten in the by-election
by John Edward Sutton
, a trade union official and Labour candidate.
Flanagan had 11,038 votes to Sutton's 14,662. Within an few months on 15 November 1922 a general election
was called and this time Flanagan beat Sutton and was elected as Member of Parliament for Manchester Clayton. In December 1923 a further general election
was held resulting in a win for Sutton.
It was not until the 1931 general election
that Flanagan managed to win the seat again and return to Parliament. He held the seat until the 1935 general election
when he decided not stand because of ill-health.
Flanagan died on 21 June 1944.
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. He was the 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 Manchester Clayton
Manchester Clayton (UK Parliament constituency)
Manchester Clayton was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
twice, from 1922 to 1923 from 1931 to 1935.
Flanagan was born in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
on 8 April 1871, the son of Willian and Emma Flanagan. His father was a wadding manufacturer and Flanagan who started as an apprentice followed his father into the wadding business. He married Lilian Mary Ashley in 1899.
On 15 January 1922 Edward Hopkinson
Edward Hopkinson
Edward Hopkinson was a British electrical engineer and Conservative politician.He was the fourth son of John Hopkinson, an engineer who was mayor of Manchester in 1882/83. Hopkinson was educated at Owen's College, Manchester and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He graduated from Emmanuel in 1881 and...
, Member of Parliament for Manchester Clayton
Manchester Clayton (UK Parliament constituency)
Manchester Clayton was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
, died and Flanagan was adopted as Coalition Unionist candidate for the resulting by-election. Flanagan is described as the Managing Director of the Imperial Patent Wadding Company Limited.
Flanagan was beaten in the by-election
Manchester Clayton by-election, 1922
The Manchester Clayton by-election of 18 February 1922 was held after the death of the Conservative politician and Member of Parliament Edward Hopkinson. Labour took the seat in the by-election...
by John Edward Sutton
John Edward Sutton
John Edward Sutton was a British trades unionist and Labour Party politician.At the age of 14, Sutton took up employment at Bradford Colliery, Manchester. He became a check-weighman and secretary of the Bradford branch of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation...
, a trade union official and Labour candidate.
Flanagan had 11,038 votes to Sutton's 14,662. Within an few months on 15 November 1922 a 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...
was called and this time Flanagan beat Sutton and was elected as Member of Parliament for Manchester Clayton. In December 1923 a further general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
was held resulting in a win for Sutton.
It was not until the 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...
that Flanagan managed to win the seat again and return to Parliament. He held the seat until the 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...
when he decided not stand because of ill-health.
Flanagan died on 21 June 1944.