James Philip Hodge
Encyclopedia
James Philp Hodge was a British Liberal
politician and lawyer.
Park, Chester
who had been miner in Fife
. He was educated at the former Chester Cathedral Choir School. The school closed in 1975. He qualified as a chartered accountant
and practised in Chester from the age of 21 but he relinquished this profession in favour of the law and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple
in 1917 and practiced law on the Northern Circuit.
In the same year he married Anna Fortunée the daughter of Michel Venture a shipowner from Marseille
. They had a daughter and a son. His wife died in 1944.
and Egypt
.He was subsequently appointed Inspector of Pay Offices with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
from 1922 to 1924. Preston was a two member seat at that time. In the 1922 general election
the Labour
candidate topped the poll, with Hodge taking the second seat from the sitting Conservative member, George Frederick Stanley
.
At the general election of 1923
, each of the political parties decided to stand only one candidate. The Tories thought seriously about putting up two candidates in the two member constituency on the grounds that this would have split the anti-Tory vote for the second seat and would have strongly discouraged their supporters from using the second vote for a Liberal or Labour candidate. In the event, Hodge held his seat.
1923-24 saw the arrival of the first Labour government under Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald
. The Conservatives had won the most seats but had lost their overall majority. The general election produced a hung parliament
and Labour took office as a minority administration with the support of the Liberals. However their position was precarious and although the Liberals were desperate to avoid a third general election in three years, it was Liberal action in Parliament which started the process which led the downfall of the government. Hodge, however, was one of 12 rebel Liberals who supported the government in the crucial parliamentary vote of October 1924 which in effect brought about the end of the first Labour government. It was not enough to ensure he held his seat however as he lost at Preston at the 1924 general election
, his seat being taken by a Conservative. At first he remained as Liberal parliamentary candidate for Preston but gave up citing ill health in 1927. However seems to have been well enough to carry on his legal practice at least until 1929.
, played golf and took a strong interest in Theology
.
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...
politician and lawyer.
Family & education
Hodge was the son Archibald Hodge of HooleHoole
Hoole is a suburb in the east of Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.-History:The settlement was first mentioned in the Register of the Abbey of Saint Werburgh in 1119...
Park, Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
who had been miner in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
. He was educated at the former Chester Cathedral Choir School. The school closed in 1975. He qualified as a chartered accountant
Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...
and practised in Chester from the age of 21 but he relinquished this profession in favour of the law and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1917 and practiced law on the Northern Circuit.
In the same year he married Anna Fortunée the daughter of Michel Venture a shipowner from Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
. They had a daughter and a son. His wife died in 1944.
Military service
Before the First World War Hodge served as a private in the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps. He later obtained a commission in the Army Pay Department and went to France in 1914. He also served in SalonikaMacedonian front (World War I)
The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.He was subsequently appointed Inspector of Pay Offices with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
Politics
Hodge was Liberal MP for PrestonPreston (UK Parliament constituency)
Preston 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:...
from 1922 to 1924. Preston was a two member seat at that time. In the 1922 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...
the 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...
candidate topped the poll, with Hodge taking the second seat from the sitting Conservative member, George Frederick Stanley
George Frederick Stanley
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir George Frederick Stanley GCSI GCIE CMG was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician who served as a member of the UK Parliament for Preston and later, Willesdon East...
.
At the general election of 1923
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, each of the political parties decided to stand only one candidate. The Tories thought seriously about putting up two candidates in the two member constituency on the grounds that this would have split the anti-Tory vote for the second seat and would have strongly discouraged their supporters from using the second vote for a Liberal or Labour candidate. In the event, Hodge held his seat.
1923-24 saw the arrival of the first Labour government under Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
. The Conservatives had won the most seats but had lost their overall majority. The general election produced a hung parliament
Hung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
and Labour took office as a minority administration with the support of the Liberals. However their position was precarious and although the Liberals were desperate to avoid a third general election in three years, it was Liberal action in Parliament which started the process which led the downfall of the government. Hodge, however, was one of 12 rebel Liberals who supported the government in the crucial parliamentary vote of October 1924 which in effect brought about the end of the first Labour government. It was not enough to ensure he held his seat however as he lost at Preston at the 1924 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
, his seat being taken by a Conservative. At first he remained as Liberal parliamentary candidate for Preston but gave up citing ill health in 1927. However seems to have been well enough to carry on his legal practice at least until 1929.
Outside Parliament
Hodge took part in scullingSculling
Sculling generally refers to a method of using oars to propel watercraft in which the oar or oars touch the water on both the port and starboard sides of the craft, or over the stern...
, played golf and took a strong interest in Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
.
Sources
- Who was Who, OUP 2007
- Obituary - The Times, 15 July 1946
- See also List of Liberal Party (UK) MPs