Allan Heywood Bright (24 May 1862 – 3 August 1941) 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.

Early life

He was the son of Henry Arthur Bright JP of Ashfield,

Knotty Ash Knotty Ash is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and a Liverpool City Council Ward. Historically in Lancashire, the population at the 2001 Census was 13,200, increasing to 13,312 at the 2011 Census. Knotty Ash is well known as the home o ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and his wife Mary Elizabeth née Thompson of nearby Thingwall Hall. Following education at Malvern and Harrow Schools, he became a member of the Liverpool firm of Rogers & Bright, tinplate merchants and ship agents, and in 1885 he married Edith Turner, a prominent campaigner for women's and workers' rights. They had one daughter. Bright was regarded as the leading member of the Liberal Party in Liverpool.

Electoral contests and opposition to the Boer War

Bright's prominence in the party led to his being adopted as the Liberal candidate when a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

was called at Exeter in November 1899. The by-election took place during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

, and the candidate of the incumbent Conservative Party, Sir Edgar Vincent, was elected with a large majority. Bright, who opposed the war, felt that "in ordinary circumstances" he would have won, and signalled his willingness to stand again. In January 1900 he became a member of the

South Africa Conciliation Committee The South Africa Conciliation Committee was a British anti-war organisation Opposition to the Second Boer War, opposed to the Second Boer War. The committee was formed in 1899 in response to the outbreak of the war, for the "dissemination of accur ...

, which was formed for the "dissemination of accurate information" on the war, and to seek an early "peaceable settlement between this country and the Boer Republics". The "

khaki The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage relative to sandy ...

" general election was held later the same year, and Bright was again the Liberal candidate at Exeter. His identification as "anti war" meant that he was again heavily defeated. In May 1901 the Conservative MP for the Oswestry division of

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

Stanley Leighton Stanley Leighton (1837 – 4 May 1901) was an English barrister, landowner, artist and Conservative politician. He is also known as an antiquarian and author. Life Leighton was the younger son of Sir Baldwin Leighton, 7th Baronet, of Loton ...

, died. Bright was selected to fight the seat in the Liberal interest. By this time he had a residence at Weston Rhyn near Oswestry. Bright was again unsuccessful, attributing his defeat "to landlordism and to shortness of time". The victor was the Hon. George Ormsby-Gore.

Member of parliament for Oswestry

Ormsby-Gore succeeded his father as

Baron Harlech Baron Harlech, of Harlech in the County of Merioneth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1876 for the Conservative politician John Ormsby-Gore, with remainder to his younger brother William. He had previously re ...

in 1904, making the Oswestry seat vacant once more. For the consequent

Bright was again chosen as the Liberal candidate, and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' noted that he had ''"nursed the constituency assidiously of late"''. His opponent was Clive Bridgeman, a prominent Conservative and member of the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

. The poll was held on 26 July, and Bright was elected which was ''"a great surprise for both Conservatives and Liberals alike"''. He believed that the electorate had rejected the government, and that ''"the whole of Shropshire politics had been simply a policy of Tory bluff and the people seemed to have got tired of it"''. Bright was only to be a member of the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

for a short period. A general election was held at the beginning of 1906, and once again he stood against Clive Bridgeman. Following a bitter campaign where allegations of intimidation were made against the Conservatives, Bright was unseated.

Later life

Bright continued to be active in the Liberal Party. In 1909 John Cheetham, Liberal MP for Stalybridge announced he would be retiring at the next general election due to ill health. Bright was selected as the party's candidate to replace Cheetham. The election was held in January 1910, but Bright failed to hold the seat for the Liberals, losing by 57 votes in spite of a large swing to the party in much of the country. A further general election was held at the end of the year, and Bright consented to be the Liberal candidate at Stalybridge again, but failed to regain the seat. He was director and later deputy chairman of the Union Bank of Manchester. He retired to Barton Court,

Colwall Colwall is a civil parish in Herefordshire, England, situated on the border with Worcestershire, nestling on the western side of the Malvern Hills at the heart of the AONB. Areas of the village are known as Colwall Stone, Upper Colwall which sha ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

, where his first wife died in January 1929. He was married again in the same year to Kelburn Milroy Ramsay, with whom he had a second daughter. By this time Bright had become an author, writing books on

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

literature. In 1930 he donated of land on the Worcestershire Beacon to the

Malvern Hills Conservators The Malvern Hills Conservators are a body corporate responsible for the care and management of the Malvern Hills and Commons. They were established in 1884 and are governed by five Acts of Parliament, the Malvern Hills Acts 1884, 1909, 1924, 19 ...

. He died at Barton Court in August 1941, aged 79. He bequeathed his collection of 1,951 volumes on psychical research to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bright, Allan Heywood Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1900–1906 1862 births 1941 deaths People educated at Harrow School People educated at Malvern College Politicians from Liverpool People from Knotty Ash