Arthur Richardson (5 February 1860 – 27 June 1936) was an English merchant and Liberal–Labour politician from

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. He sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1906 to 1918.

Schooling

Richardson was born in East Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, the son of William Richardson. He was educated at East Bridgford National School and then at Magnus Grammar School in

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

. He later became a tea merchant in the firm of Arthur Richardson and Sons.

Politics

Richardson was elected at the 1906 general election as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Nottingham South Nottingham South is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, represented since 2010 by Lilian Greenwood of the Labour Party. Members of Parliament Since 2010, the seat has been represented by Lilian Greenwood, who succeede ...

, defeating the sitting Unionist MP

Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (28 May 1863 – 6 October 1931), known as Henry Cavendish-Bentinck until 1880, was a British Conservative politician. Biography Cavendish-Bentinck was the eldest son of Lieutenant-General Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck ...

. Although described as Liberal–Labour, he was not a trade union-sponsored MP, and as such not required to join the Labour Party in 1910. Richardson held the seat until the January 1910 election, when he was defeated by Cavendish-Bentinck. He was unsuccessful when he stood again in December 1910. He returned to Parliament of the United Kingdom seven years later, when he was elected unopposed as MP for

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

at a by-election in February 1917 after the Liberal MP Jack Pease was elevated to the peerage. He held that seat until the 1918 general election, when he stood unsuccessfully as a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate in Nottingham West. He then contested the next three general elections in the Melton division of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. After a clear defeat by the sitting

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

MP Sir Charles Yate in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, he lost to Yate by only 44 votes in 1923, but by over 5,000 votes in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

.Craig, ''British parliamentary election results 1918–1949'', p. 413. Arthur Richardson died on 27 June 1936 in

Edwalton Edwalton is an area of West Bridgford in the Borough of Rushcliffe, in Nottinghamshire, England, covering Gamston and the older Edwalton village. The population of the Rushcliffe Ward was 3,908 at the 2011 Census. A 2019 estimate put it at 4, ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

References

External links

* 1860 births 1936 deaths Liberal-Labour (UK) MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Politicians from Nottingham People educated at Magnus Church of England School {{England-UK-MP-stub