John Duckworth (politician)
Encyclopedia
John Duckworth was an English Liberal Party
politician and cotton manufacturer.
.
. According to The Times
Newspaper, Duckworth was not associated with the internal feuding which had plagued the Liberals since the split between H H Asquith and David Lloyd George
in December 1916 and this helped unify the two wings of the party there in the run up to the 1923 general election
. Duckworth was elected Member of Parliament
for Blackburn
in 1923 and held the seat at the 1924 election
. He served as MP until 1929 when he stood down from Parliament.
The Blackburn constituency was a two-member seat and the Liberals and Unionists
remained in partnership there after 1918 against the socialist threat, maintaining the former wartime coalition arrangements. Each party contested one of the two seats, ensuring the anti-Labour
vote was not split and so keeping Labour out. Duckworth carried on his alliance with the Tories inside Parliament. In January 1924 he was one of then Liberal MPs to defy his party line and vote woth the Conservatives in an attempt to prevent the formation of the first Labour government under Ramsay Macdonald
. He also voted with the Conservatives later that year in the division over the decision of the Poplar
Board of Guardians
to exceed the amount of relief they were entitled to dispense to the derserving poor and also on the government's naval estimates.
While in Parliament, Duckworth took an interest in agricultural affairs, with a particular reference to sugar-beet production and in foreign policy he was especially concerned with Anglo-Chinese relations
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 cotton manufacturer.
Family
Duckworth was the son of George Duckworth. In 1890 he married Ruth Sutcliffe, the daughter of a Lancashire Justice of the PeaceJustice 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...
.
Politics
In 1923 he succeeded the sitting Liberal MP, Sir Henry NormanHenry Norman
Sir Henry Norman, 1st Baronet PC was an English journalist and Liberal politician. Norman was educated privately in France and at Harvard University, where he obtained his B.A...
. According to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
Newspaper, Duckworth was not associated with the internal feuding which had plagued the Liberals since the split between H H Asquith and David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
in December 1916 and this helped unify the two wings of the party there in the run up to the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
. Duckworth was elected 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,...
for Blackburn
Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)
Blackburn is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The town currently elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It has elected Labour MPs since its re-creation in 1955.-Boundaries:The constituency...
in 1923 and held the seat at the 1924 election
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
. He served as MP until 1929 when he stood down from Parliament.
The Blackburn constituency was a two-member seat and the Liberals and Unionists
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...
remained in partnership there after 1918 against the socialist threat, maintaining the former wartime coalition arrangements. Each party contested one of the two seats, ensuring the anti-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...
vote was not split and so keeping Labour out. Duckworth carried on his alliance with the Tories inside Parliament. In January 1924 he was one of then Liberal MPs to defy his party line and vote woth the Conservatives in an attempt to prevent the formation of the first Labour government under 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....
. He also voted with the Conservatives later that year in the division over the decision of the Poplar
Poplar, London
Poplar is a historic, mainly residential area of the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is about east of Charing Cross. Historically a hamlet in the parish of Stepney, Middlesex, in 1817 Poplar became a civil parish. In 1855 the Poplar District of the Metropolis was...
Board of Guardians
Board of Guardians
Boards of guardians were ad hoc authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.-England and Wales:The boards were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish Overseers of the Poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations...
to exceed the amount of relief they were entitled to dispense to the derserving poor and also on the government's naval estimates.
While in Parliament, Duckworth took an interest in agricultural affairs, with a particular reference to sugar-beet production and in foreign policy he was especially concerned with Anglo-Chinese relations