Andrew Mitchell Torrance (1845 – 4 February 1909)Who's Who was a Scottish

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 ...

politician.

Background

He was born in Old Cumnock,

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquar ...

in 1845. He was educated at Cumnock parish school. In 1861 he was apprenticed to Peter Kelso & Co., muslin manufacturers of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. In 1863, moving to London, he worked for Smith, Anderson & Co. In 1875, he became a partner and the firm changed its name to Miller, Son, & Torrance.Glasgow Digital Library He was given a knighthood in 1906.

Municipal career

He was elected to 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 ...

as a Liberal backed

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member representing Islington East. He was re-elected on every occasion until standing down in 1907. He was Deputy Chairman of the

in 1897-98 and again in 1900-01 and served as Chairman in 1901–02. He was also involved in Islington Borough municipal politics, being elected to the council and serving as mayor of Islington from 1903 to 1905. In June 1903, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

Parliamentary career

Torrance first stood for

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at the 1900 general election in Islington East (his London County Council seat), but lost by a wide margin to the sitting

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

MP Benjamin Louis Cohen. At the next general election, in January 1906 he chose to contest a seat in his native Scotland and was elected as the MP for

Glasgow Central (UK Parliament constituency) Glasgow Central is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Westminster). In its current form, the constituency was first used at the 2005 general election, but there was also a ''Glasgow Central'' con ...

, defeating the sitting Conservative MP John George Alexander Baird by a margin of 3.4%.

References

External links

* *Portrait & Biography; http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/eyrwho/eyrwho1710.htm Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies 1845 births 1909 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of the County of London Members of London County Council Progressive Party (London) politicians Scottish Liberal Party MPs UK MPs 1906–1910 Members of Islington Metropolitan Borough Council Mayors of places in Greater London {{Scotland-Liberal-UK-MP-stub