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David Rennie Hardman (18 October 1901 – 6 December 1989) was a British Labour Party politician.

Early life and education

Although he was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, David Hardman moved to

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

with his parents when he was very young because his father (also David Hardman) was made head of Coleraine Technical Academy. He grew up in Coleraine with his sisters Grace and Alice. David Hardman's education was interrupted by 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 ...

and it is understood he was called up when he was 17 on or after 18 October 1918. David deferred his place at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

because of his military service, but, once at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

he became the first Socialist President of the

Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debatin ...

in 1924. His parents had been members of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fa ...

and he was an active socialist.

Political career

He unsuccessfully contested

at the 1929 general election. At the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

, he was elected as

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

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, defeating 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 i ...

Charles Peat Charles Urie Peat (28 February 1892 – 27 October 1979) was a British Conservative Party politician and cricketer. He was the son of William Barclay Peat, founder of the international accounting firm KPMG. Peat was born in Edmonton, Middlesex ...

. Hardman held the seat until the 1951 general election, when he was defeated by the Conservative

Fergus Graham Sir Frederick Fergus Graham, 5th Baronet KBE TD (10 March 1893 – 1 August 1978) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. Early life Graham was a "member of one of the most distinguished Border families". He was the son of S ...

. In the

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

post-war Labour government Clement Attlee was invited by King George VI to form the Attlee ministry in the United Kingdom in July 1945, succeeding Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Labour Party had won a landslide victory at the 1945 gene ...

, he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education.

Death

He died on 6 December 1989 in Brighton, Sussex, England.

References

External links

* 1901 births 1989 deaths Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Ministers in the Attlee governments, 1945–1951 Presidents of the Cambridge Union UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub