Abraham England,
CMG,
DSO (3 January 1867 – 4 January 1949) was a British
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician, businessman and soldier.
Early life
Abraham England was born at
Barrowford
Barrowford () is a large village and civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It is situated to the north of Nelson on the other side of the M65 motorway, and forms part of the Nelson conurbation. It also comprises the area of ...
, near
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
and pursued a business career in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. He joined the
Territorial Force
The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...
as a volunteer and during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he served in Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Belgium. He was mentioned three times in dispatches and was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
in 1918 and was made a
CMG two years later In 1922 he commanded the East Lancashire Divisional Train,
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...
and was honorary Colonel of the formation from 1923 to 1933.
[The Times, 5.1.49]
Entry into politics
In 1921 the
Coalition Liberal
The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victo ...
-held seat at
Heywood and Radcliffe fell vacant as the sitting MP,
Albert Illingworth went to the House of Lords. England was adopted as Coalition Liberal candidate and faced a three-cornered contest with Labour and an Independent Liberal supported by
H H Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
. There was doubt at first as to whether the Asquithian Liberals would put up a candidate as many Liberals in the north-west were anxious to avoid the wounds of an open clash with the
Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...
coalition Liberals. All three candidates professed to be supporters of Free Trade so for the coalition campaign the main election issue was the avoidance of class war and Lloyd George emphasised this in his public letter of support to England. In his election address England said the issue was whether the country wished to submit to will of an extremist minority. Notwithstanding this attack, the result was a Labour gain, albeit by the narrow majority of 305 votes. The successful candidate,
Walter Halls
Walter Halls (16 June 1871 – 20 October 1953) was a British trade unionist and politician.
Born in Gaulby in Leicestershire, Halls was educated locally before finding work on the railways. He became an active trade unionist, and was elected a ...
of Nottingham was said to have profited from the breakdown of talks in Manchester over wages in the cotton trade which threatened the employment and livelihoods of many of the local people. Halls received 13,430 votes to England's 13,125. The Independent Liberal received 5,671.
Parliamentary career
England did not give up on his political career however, nor did he desert Heywood. He stood again at the
1922 general election as a National Liberal (indicating his continued support for Lloyd George), but attracting no Conservative or other Liberal opponent, beating Halls. In return England voted with the Conservative government much more often than against it in the 1922-23 Parliament prompting one historian to describe him as a Conservative in all but name. He stood in
1923
Events
January–February
* January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory).
* January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
as a plain Liberal, again without Conservative opposition and again defeated Walter Halls. England was one of ten Liberal MPs who defied the party whip and voted against putting Labour into office following the outcome of the 1923 election and during the period of the first Labour government, England voted with the Conservatives on a number of issues. In October 1924, the Heywood and Radcliffe Conservatives announced they would be supporting England at the forthcoming general election. He stood at this election under the
Constitutionalist
Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law".
Political organizations are constitutional ...
label but after the election re-took the Liberal whip. During the Liberal turmoil which followed the formation of the National Government in August 1931 and the split in the party over whether to continue giving it support which occurred in October that year, England was on the side of the National Liberals led by
Sir John Simon
John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954), was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of only three peop ...
. Despite his support for the National Government however, the Tories determined to fight Heywood and Radcliffe themselves at the
1931 general election. In the face of this, England reluctantly decided to stand down to prevent the splitting of the National vote and to avoid the risk of defeat.
National Liberal
Outside Parliament he continued to support the Simonite Liberals and in 1932, he became a founder member of the National Liberal Council, the body set up to support the
National Liberal
National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism).
A seri ...
group in the House of Commons. This group came increasingly to be associated with the Conservatives. It changed its name to the Liberal Nationals in 1948 and eventually merged with the Tories in 1968. In 1934, despite his National Liberal past, England was elected president of the Manchester Reform Club.
[The Times, 25.2.35]
Marriage and death
In 1895 England married Lucy Dunkerley. He died at his home near
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Irish ...
aged 81.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:England, Abraham
Military personnel from Lancashire
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1922–1923
UK MPs 1923–1924
UK MPs 1924–1929
UK MPs 1929–1931
1867 births
1949 deaths
People from Barrowford
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians
British Army personnel of World War I
Royal Army Service Corps officers