Charles Frederick White

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(23 January 1891 – 27 November 1956) was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the West Derbyshire firstly from 1944 to 1945 as an Independent Labour candidate and subsequently from 1945 to 1950 as the official Labour Party candidate. He was the son of Charles Frederick White, who had represented the same constituency for the

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. For example, while the political systems ...

from 1918 to 1923.

Family and education

White was born in Bonsall in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

in 1891, the only son of Charles Frederick White''Who was Who'', OUP 2007 and Alice Charlesworth, and had five sisters. In 1915 he married Alice Moore.''Derby Daily Telegraph, Thur 14 Jan 1915, pg 4'' His

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

has been politically active on behalf of the Liberals and had successfully broken the dynastic

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

stranglehold on the Western Division of Derbyshire parliamentary seat by the

Cavendish family The Cavendish (or de Cavendish) family ( ; ) is a British noble family, of Anglo-Norman origins (though with an Anglo-Saxon name, originally from a place-name in Suffolk). They rose to their highest prominence as Duke of Devonshire and Duke of ...

from 1918 to his death in 1923 when the constituency returned to the

fold.

Career

Registration agent and soldier

White worked as a registration agent''The Derbyshire Labour Movement: 1939-1945''
accessed 14 May 2016 for his father during his unsuccessful campaign as a Liberal candidate for West Derbyshire in the 1910 General Election. At the onset of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he joined the 6th Notts and Derbyshire Battalion of 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 in ...

, a reserve formation of the British Army, in October 1914, gaining promotion to Corporal in November of the same year, and to Sergeant in March 1915, serving in the UK until his discharge from active service in 1917. Following the war, White again worked as his father's election agent in his successful defence of the West Derbyshire seat in 1922 and during the 1923 campaign for the same seat, which was ended by his father's death.

Local politics

White inherited his father's political activism and joined the Liberal Party. White's first political post was as a Councillor, being elected to

Derbyshire County Council Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is ba ...

in 1928. In the following year he was elected to Matlock Urban District Council. At the 1929 General Election he stood as Liberal candidate for

Hanley Hanley is one of the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent, six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke- ...

, finishing third. In 1930 White resigned from the Liberal party, and joined Oswald Mosley's New Party for three months soon after it was established, thinking it would be a radical left-wing organisation. In common with many other early supporters, he left as soon as the fascist character of the movement became clear, but this was to become a point of contention during his later political career. White subsequently joined the Labour party, continuing his municipal activities in the meantime, and he was selected as the Labour prospective parliamentary candidate for West Derbyshire in 1937.

National politics

1938

In 1938, White stood unsuccessfully as the Labour candidateF W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results, 1918-1949''; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p 326 in a parliamentary

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

for the West Derbyshire constituency, coming

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

to the

candidate, Henry Philip Hunloke.

1944

In 1944, despite being the official Labour prospective parliamentary candidate at the time the by-election was announced, White broke the convention that existed between the major parties in the UK during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

that by-elections were unopposed and stood as an Independent Labour candidate against the

candidate William Cavendish in the

for the West Derbyshire constituency caused by the resignation of the Conservative incumbent. In an acrimonious campaign White pressed for social change, securing the support of local Labour activists, and won with a remarkable swing, polling over four thousand votes more than the second-placed Conservative candidate. Once in Parliament he took the official Labour party

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

1945-1950

By 1945, White had been reconciled with the official Labour party and stood as the party's candidate in that year's

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. He again won, but by a drastically reduced majority of just 156 votes over his

opponent, William Aitken. White served as the constituency MP until the 1950 general election when he stood down, and the seat reverted to a Conservative MP, Edward Wakefield. During his time in Parliament, White's limited contributions to debate focused mostly on agricultural and labour issues together with electoral reform. Whilst serving as an MP, White also became Chair of Derbyshire County Council in 1946, a post he held for the next decade.

Post 1950

Following his departure from Parliament, White remained active in local and regional politics. As well as being chair of the County Council, in 1951 he was a member of the East Midlands Transport Users Consultative Committee, and was the first chair of the Peak District National Park Board.

Death

White died in 1956.

Recognition

White was appointed a

in the New Year's Honours list of 1951 in recognition of his political and public works. In 1956, a secondary school in Matlock was named the Charles White Secondary Modern in recognition of both father & son's contributions to the local area. The school was later merged with another to form the extant Highfields school.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Charles Frederick 1891 births 1956 deaths UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People from Bonsall, Derbyshire Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Liberal Party (UK) councillors Members of Derbyshire County Council British Army personnel of World War I Sherwood Foresters soldiers Military personnel from Derbyshire Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire