Frances Henrietta Stewart (1883 – 26 September 1962), was a British politician and supporter of

Indian nationalism Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, b ...

Background

She was born as Frances Henrietta Rickards, the daughter of Arthur G. Rickards, KC. She had a private education. In 1906 she married Francis Hugh Stewart, a Calcutta merchant. That year, she returned with him to India, where they lived and raised a family. They had three sons and four daughters. In 1916, her husband was knighted, which gave her the title of Lady Stewart. They returned to Britain in 1919. Sir Francis died in 1921.

Political career

She joined 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. She was an advocate of Indian independence and served as Honorary Secretary of the

National Indian Association :Should not be confused with the Indian National Association The National Indian Association was formed in Bristol by Mary Carpenter. The London branch was formed the following year. After the death of Mary Carpenter, Elizabeth Adelaide Manning ...

. She also took an active interest in infant and school welfare work. She was Liberal candidate for the Kensington North Division of London at the 1929 General Election. It was not a promising seat for the Liberals who had not won since 1906. She finished in third place; KensingtonNorth1918

In 1930 she left the Liberals to join the Labour Party, and she stood unsuccessfully in Balham and Tooting at the

1931 London County Council election An election to the County Council of London took place on 5 March 1931. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having two votes in the two-member seats. The Municipal Reform Party slightly increased its majority on the ...

. In September 1931, when the Labour Party split over support for the National Government, she followed Labour Prime Minister

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

and joined the National Labour Party. She attempted to run as a National Labour candidate in Kensington North at the 1931 General Election but when it became clear that supporters of the National Government were uniting behind the Conservative candidate, she withdrew. she continued to support the National Labour Party throughout the 1930s. She did oppose the National Government's Nazi appeasement policy; In early 1939, before war broke out, she advocated the introduction of conscription and increased arms spending to counter the Nazi threat. In 1939 she was awarded the OBE.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:STEWART, Frances Henrietta 1883 births 1962 deaths Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) politicians