John Deans Hope
Encyclopedia
John Deans Hope was a Scottish Liberal
politician.
, the son of the late James Hope of Eastbarns, Dunbar
, a famous agriculturalist. In 1899 he married Elizabeth Holmes-Kerr whose father had homes in Glasgow
and Underbank in Ayrshire
. They had one daughter. His brother, Sir Harry Hope, 1st Baronet, was the Unionist
MP for Buteshire. Hope was educated at Fettes College
and Edinburgh University.
and later became a stockbroker. Hope was also a Justice of the Peace
in Haddingtonshire.
at West Perthshire
at the 1895 general election
but could not remove the sitting Liberal Unionist
MP Sir Donald Currie
. However he was successful in being returned as Liberal MP for West Fife in succession to Augustine Birrell
in the Khaki election of 1900
and he held the seat until the general election of December 1910 when he lost to the Labour
candidate William Adamson
the Secretary of the Fife Miners’ Association.
, Richard Haldane
, was made a Viscount and went to the House of Lords
and Hope was chosen by the local Liberals to succeed him. In the by-election
that followed Hope emerged the winner with 3,652 votes to the 3,184 of the Unionist
candidate B Hall Blyth – a respectable majority of 468 (albeit a decrease on the last election of over 200). In his victory speech at Haddington Assembly Rooms, Hope said that East Lothian had been true to the cause of freedom, liberty and justice and had given a decisive verdict against the veto of the House of Lords (a reference to the ongoing struggle originating with the People's Budget
of 1909 and the Parliament Act 1911
. The result, claimed Hope, would strengthen the government against the forces of privilege and obstruction. It was a victory for self-government for Ireland, Home Rule
for Scotland and reform of land law.
Haddingtonshire constituency was abolished in 1918 and Hope was adopted for one of its successor constituencies Berwick and Haddington. Hope was a supporter of the coalition government of Lloyd George
Liberals and the Conservatives and he received the infamous government ‘Coupon’ at the 1918 general election
, standing as a Coalition Liberal against Labour and Independent Liberal
opposition.
both the local Conservative and Lloyd George Liberal Associations repudiated Hope as their candidate on the grounds that he had not made a single speech during his 24 years in Parliament. He had not been completely anonymous however having served on ten Parliamentary Commissions and having seconded a number of resolutions, apparently without ever being called upon to speak. Arthur Balfour
wrote Hope a letter of support under the impression he was still Lloyd George’s nominee but he later retracted it. In the election Hope supported Bonar Law as an Independent Lloyd Georgian but there was also an official Lloyd George candidate, Major Walter Waring and an Asquithian, Mr H Pringle as well as R Spence for Labour. It was the end of Hope’s Parliamentary career as Waring won the contest.
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.
Family and education
Hope was born in Duddington, MidlothianMidlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
, the son of the late James Hope of Eastbarns, Dunbar
Dunbar
Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
, a famous agriculturalist. In 1899 he married Elizabeth Holmes-Kerr whose father had homes in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Underbank in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
. They had one daughter. His brother, Sir Harry Hope, 1st Baronet, was the Unionist
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 for Buteshire. Hope was educated at Fettes College
Fettes College
Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...
and Edinburgh University.
Career
By profession Hope was a chartered accountantChartered 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 later became a stockbroker. Hope was also 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...
in Haddingtonshire.
Politics
Hope first stood for ParliamentParliament 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...
at West Perthshire
West Perthshire (UK Parliament constituency)
West Perthshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1918...
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...
but could not remove 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 Sir Donald Currie
Donald Currie
Sir Donald Currie GCMG was a British shipowner.Currie was born in Greenock, Scotland. However, he spent his school days in Belfast at the Belfast Academy and later at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and at a very early age he was employed in the office of a shipowner in that port...
. However he was successful in being returned as Liberal MP for West Fife in succession to Augustine Birrell
Augustine Birrell
Augustine Birrell PC, KC was an English politician, barrister, academic and author. He was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916, resigning in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Rising.-Early life:...
in the Khaki election of 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 he held the seat until the general election of December 1910 when he lost to 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 William Adamson
William Adamson
William Adamson was a Scottish trade unionist and Labour politician. He was Leader of the Labour Party between 1917 and 1921 and served as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1924 and between 1929 and 1931 in the first two Labour administrations headed by Ramsay MacDonald.-Background:Adamson was...
the Secretary of the Fife Miners’ Association.
Return to Parliament
Hope did not have long to wait before getting the chance to return to Parliament as in 1911 the MP for HaddingtonshireHaddingtonshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Haddingtonshire was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 until 1918.-Boundaries:...
, Richard Haldane
Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane
Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane KT, OM, PC, KC, FRS, FBA, FSA , was an influential British Liberal Imperialist and later Labour politician, lawyer and philosopher. He was Secretary of State for War between 1905 and 1912 during which time the "Haldane Reforms" were implemented...
, was made a Viscount and went to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and Hope was chosen by the local Liberals to succeed him. In the by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
that followed Hope emerged the winner with 3,652 votes to the 3,184 of the Unionist
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...
candidate B Hall Blyth – a respectable majority of 468 (albeit a decrease on the last election of over 200). In his victory speech at Haddington Assembly Rooms, Hope said that East Lothian had been true to the cause of freedom, liberty and justice and had given a decisive verdict against the veto of the House of Lords (a reference to the ongoing struggle originating with the People's Budget
People's Budget
The 1909 People's Budget was a product of then British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith's Liberal government, introducing many unprecedented taxes on the wealthy and radical social welfare programmes to Britain's political life...
of 1909 and the Parliament Act 1911
Parliament Act 1911
The Parliament Act 1911 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords which make up the Houses of Parliament. This Act must be construed as one with the Parliament Act 1949...
. The result, claimed Hope, would strengthen the government against the forces of privilege and obstruction. It was a victory for self-government for Ireland, Home Rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
for Scotland and reform of land law.
Haddingtonshire constituency was abolished in 1918 and Hope was adopted for one of its successor constituencies Berwick and Haddington. Hope was a supporter of the coalition government of Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
Liberals and the Conservatives and he received the infamous government ‘Coupon’ 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...
, standing as a Coalition Liberal against Labour and Independent Liberal
Asquith
Asquith refers to:Persons of the Asquith family, descended from or related to H.H. Asquith, a British prime minister, later a peer:*Herbert Henry Asquith , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
opposition.
Out of Parliament
A the 1922 general electionUnited 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...
both the local Conservative and Lloyd George Liberal Associations repudiated Hope as their candidate on the grounds that he had not made a single speech during his 24 years in Parliament. He had not been completely anonymous however having served on ten Parliamentary Commissions and having seconded a number of resolutions, apparently without ever being called upon to speak. Arthur Balfour
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...
wrote Hope a letter of support under the impression he was still Lloyd George’s nominee but he later retracted it. In the election Hope supported Bonar Law as an Independent Lloyd Georgian but there was also an official Lloyd George candidate, Major Walter Waring and an Asquithian, Mr H Pringle as well as R Spence for Labour. It was the end of Hope’s Parliamentary career as Waring won the contest.