Sir Harold Elverston (26 December 1866 – 10 August 1941) was a British

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 on 26 December 1866, the third son of James Booth Elverston of Heaton Chapel,

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

. He was educated privately. He married in 1899, Josephine Taylor, daughter of J. J. Taylor of Rusholme, a newspaper proprietor. They had three sons.

Career

He was a member of

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

. He served on the Executive Committee of the

National Liberal Federation The National Liberal Federation (1877–1936) was the union of all English and Welsh (but not Scottish) Liberal Associations. It held an annual conference which was regarded as being representative of the opinion of the party's rank and file and ...

from 1906 to 1910. He served as Hon. Secretary of the Lancashire and Cheshire Liberal Federation from 1906 to 1925. He served as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Cheshire. He first stood for parliament when he contested the 1908 Worcester by-election, a seat that the Conservatives held. He was Liberal

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 ...

for

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

from 1910 to 1918. Gateshead was a seat that the Liberals had won in 1906 with their candidate being sponsored by the

Durham Miners' Association The Durham Miners' Association (DMA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1869 and its membership quickly rose to 4,000, but within a year had fallen back to 2,000. In December 1870, William Crawford becam ...

. The miners unions were independent until the

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...

voted to affiliate to the Labour Party. They instructed all miners sponsored MPs to stand for re-election as Labour candidates and this is what happeneded in Gateshead. However, the local Liberal Association wanted a Liberal candidate to defend the seat and selected Elverston. He won the seat and the sitting Labour MP finished bottom of the poll; He held the seat at the following General Election shortly after; He did not stand for parliament again.British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S. He was knighted in 1911. He sought to defend his seat at the General Election at the end of the war but was up against a Unionist candidate who was supported by the Coalition Government. As a result, he finished bottom of the poll; He was elected as a member of

Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire Eas ...

in 1921. He again served on the Executive Committee of the National Liberal Federation from 1921 to 1925. Outside politics he was a member of the Council of Manchester Royal College of Music. He was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Royal London Mutual Assurance Society. He was a Director of Mutual Finance Ltd.

Sources

*Who Was Who *British parliamentary election results 1885–1918, Craig, F. W. S.

References

External links

*Who Was Who; http://www.ukwhoswho.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Elverston, Harold 1866 births 1941 deaths Councillors in Cheshire Councillors in Manchester Knights Bachelor Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918