Arthur Strauss
Encyclopedia
Arthur Strauss was a British Liberal Unionist
, and later Conservative
Member of Parliament
who later joined the Labour Party
.
He was first elected to the House of Commons at the 1895 general election
as Member of Parliament
(MP) for Camborne
, having unsuccessfully contested the seat in 1892
. He was defeated at the 1900 general election
, and failed to regain the seat at a by-election in 1903 after the death of his successor, William Sproston Caine
.
At the 1906 general election
, he was selected to stand as the Conservative candidate in Paddington North
, where the sitting Conservative MP Sir John Aird was retiring and the local Conservative Association had found difficulty in selecting a candidate. However, his selection proved controversial, because Strauss was Jewish and the Liberal Party
candidate Leo Chiozza Money
was Italian, and a committee of objectors to "foreign" candidates was formed which persuaded Sir Henry Burdett to run as an Independent Unionist candidate. Although the constituency had at times been marginal, Paddington North had been held by a Conservative since its creation in 1885, but the split Unionist vote allowed Money to win the seat for the Liberals.
Strauss was selected again to contest Paddington North at the 1910 election, and faced a repeat of the previous opposition. However, the dissident 'League of Patriotic Electors of North Paddington' decided in the end not field a candidate, and at the general election in January 1910, Strauss won the seat, having campaigned on tariff reform. He was re-elected in December 1910.
At the 1918 general election
, Strauss stood as an "Independent Labour" candidate and lost both the seat and his deposit, winning only 4.5% of the votes. He subsequently joined the Labour Party
, but although he did not return to Parliament, his son George
(1901–1993) also joined Labour and was an MP for 46 years, eventually becoming Father of the House
in the 1970s and then a life peer
. His other son Victor, a Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps
was killed in action in 1916.
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
, and later 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...
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,...
who later joined 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...
.
He was first elected to the House of Commons at the 1895 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1895
The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...
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 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...
, having unsuccessfully contested the seat in 1892
United Kingdom general election, 1892
The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...
. He was defeated at the 1900 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1900
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
, and failed to regain the seat at a by-election in 1903 after the death of his successor, William Sproston Caine
William Sproston Caine
William Sproston Caine was a British politician and Temperance advocate.Caine was born at Seacombe, Cheshire, and was the eldest surviving son of Nathaniel Caine, a metal merchant from Cheshire, and was educated at private schools in Egremont, Merseyside and Birkenhead before entering his father's...
.
At the 1906 general election
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**...
, he was selected to stand as the Conservative candidate in Paddington North
Paddington North (UK Parliament constituency)
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...
, where the sitting Conservative MP Sir John Aird was retiring and the local Conservative Association had found difficulty in selecting a candidate. However, his selection proved controversial, because Strauss was Jewish and 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 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,...
was Italian, and a committee of objectors to "foreign" candidates was formed which persuaded Sir Henry Burdett to run as an Independent Unionist candidate. Although the constituency had at times been marginal, Paddington North had been held by a Conservative since its creation in 1885, but the split Unionist vote allowed Money to win the seat for the Liberals.
Strauss was selected again to contest Paddington North at the 1910 election, and faced a repeat of the previous opposition. However, the dissident 'League of Patriotic Electors of North Paddington' decided in the end not field a candidate, and at the general election in January 1910, Strauss won the seat, having campaigned on tariff reform. He was re-elected in December 1910.
At the 1918 general election
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...
, Strauss stood as an "Independent Labour" candidate and lost both the seat and his deposit, winning only 4.5% of the votes. He subsequently joined 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...
, but although he did not return to Parliament, his son George
George Strauss
George Russell Strauss, Baron Strauss PC was a long-serving British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament for 46 years and was Father of the House of Commons from 1974 to 1979....
(1901–1993) also joined Labour and was an MP for 46 years, eventually becoming Father of the House
Father of the House
Father of the House is a term that has by tradition been unofficially bestowed on certain members of some national legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the term refers to the oldest member, but in others it refers the longest-serving member.The...
in the 1970s and then a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
. His other son Victor, a Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
was killed in action in 1916.