George Doughty
Encyclopedia
Sir George Doughty was a British ship-owner and politician from Grimsby
in Lincolnshire
. He sat in the House of Commons for most of the period from 1895 to 1914.
Doughty was the son William Doughty from Grimsby. He was educated at the Wesleyan Higher Grade School in Grimsby, and became a merchant, a ship-owner, and a partner in the Grimsby-based firm of Hagerup, Doughty and Company Ltd. He became an alderman
of Grimsby, and was twice Mayor of the town, and was a Justice of the Peace
(J.P) for the Lindsey
area of Lincolnshire
.
Standing as a member of the Liberal Party
, Doughty was elected at the 1895 general election
as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Great Grimsby
, defeating the sitting Liberal Unionist
MP Edward Heneage
by a majority of 181 votes (2.2%).
However, in 1898 Doughty himself left the Liberal Party to join the Liberal Unionists, and offered himself to the voters of Grimsby for re-election. He resigned his seat
on 21 July by taking the post of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds,
and at the resulting by-election he was re-elected on 2 August with a majority 1,751 votes (21.5% of the total).
He was returned unopposed in 1900
, and held the seat at a contested election in 1906
with a majority of 18.2% of the votes. However, at the January 1910 election he was defeated by the Liberal Party candidate Thomas Wing
.
He ousted Wing at the December 1910 election, retaking the seat with a majority 698 votes (4.6%), and two years later became a Conservative Party
MP when the Liberal Unionists formally merged with Conservatives (although in practice the two parties had been largely indistinguishable for more than a decade).
He was knight
ed in the King's Birthday Honours in 1904.
Doughty died on 7 April 1914, aged 60.
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. He sat in the House of Commons for most of the period from 1895 to 1914.
Doughty was the son William Doughty from Grimsby. He was educated at the Wesleyan Higher Grade School in Grimsby, and became a merchant, a ship-owner, and a partner in the Grimsby-based firm of Hagerup, Doughty and Company Ltd. He became an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
of Grimsby, and was twice Mayor of the town, and was a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(J.P) for the Lindsey
Lindsey
Lindsey was a unit of local government until 1974 in Lincolnshire, England, covering the northern part of the county. The Isle of Axholme, which is on the west side of the River Trent, has normally formed part of it...
area of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
.
Standing as a member of 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...
, Doughty was elected 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 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 Great Grimsby
Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Grimsby is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, consisting of the town of Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, defeating the sitting Liberal Unionist
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...
MP Edward Heneage
Edward Heneage, 1st Baron Heneage
Edward Heneage, 1st Baron Heneage PC, JP, DL was a British Liberal and Liberal Unionist politician. He was briefly Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster under William Ewart Gladstone between February and April 1886, when he broke with Gladstone over Irish Home Rule and joined the Liberal...
by a majority of 181 votes (2.2%).
However, in 1898 Doughty himself left the Liberal Party to join the Liberal Unionists, and offered himself to the voters of Grimsby for re-election. He resigned his seat
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
on 21 July by taking the post of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds,
and at the resulting by-election he was re-elected on 2 August with a majority 1,751 votes (21.5% of the total).
He was returned unopposed in 1900
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 held the seat at a contested election in 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**...
with a majority of 18.2% of the votes. However, at the January 1910 election he was defeated by the Liberal Party candidate Thomas Wing
Thomas Edward Wing
Thomas Edward Wing was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected at the January 1910 general election as Member of Parliament for Grimsby, but lost that seat at the general election in December 1910.He was returned to Parliament as MP for Houghton-le-Spring in County Durham...
.
He ousted Wing at the December 1910 election, retaking the seat with a majority 698 votes (4.6%), and two years later became a Conservative Party
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...
MP when the Liberal Unionists formally merged with Conservatives (although in practice the two parties had been largely indistinguishable for more than a decade).
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 1904.
Doughty died on 7 April 1914, aged 60.