Herbert Harvey Spencer (1869 – 23 February 1926) was an English stuff manufacturer and trader and

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.

Family

Spencer was married and had three sons. Two died during the First World War and the third was killed in a mountaineering accident in Canada.

Career

By profession Spencer was a cotton merchant The Times, 5 March 1913 p10 and

worsted Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham ...

manufacturer and in 1925 he gave evidence to the Board of Trade safeguarding enquiry into the worsted trade.The Times, 25 February 1926 p16 He was sometime secretary to the Bradford and District Manufacturers’ Association and connected to the Association of Chambers of Commerce Spencer also spent some time in Australia engaged in farming and land development.

Politics

1901–1918

Spencer was described as a fierce defender of

Liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

and was a self-declared warrior against what he called the fallacies of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

. In 1901 he was elected as a member of Bradford Town Council. In 1913 he was adopted to fight the next election as Liberal candidate in Preston. However come the 1918 general election Spencer did not fight Preston. The two member constituency was fought and won by two

Conservatives 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 ...

for the Lloyd George Coalition, who had presumably received the

Coalition Coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

. Against them stood one Labour and one Independent Asquithian candidate, Lieutenant J J O'Neill.

1922–1923

Spencer was however elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at the 1922 general election as an Independent Liberal at Bradford South. He faced no Lloyd George

National Liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A seri ...

opponent but was involved in a tight three-cornered contest with Labour and

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 ...

adversaries. He gained the seat from the Conservatives by the margin of 906 votes over Labour, with the

Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

in third place. Spencer held his seat at the 1923 general election in a similar three-party contest, despite being unwell and unable to campaign in person. This time he held on by 675 votes over Labour.F W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results'', p102

1924

By the time of the 1924 general election the tide was turning against the Liberals in the aftermath of the first Labour government. During the 1924 Parliament the Liberals had often been divided over support for the government of Ramsay MacDonald. Even on the initial vote to bring down the government of Stanley Baldwin and install Labour's minority administration, ten Liberal MPs voted with the Conservatives. Spencer also defied the party whip in this period voting against the Labour government and with the Conservatives on the Evictions Bill (i.e. evictions under the Rent Restriction Act) and twice on the Housing (Financial Provisions) Bill. The sort of difficulties which beset the Liberal Party in Parliament were apparent nationally at the 1924 general election. The Liberals were finding it difficult to define their political position in relation to the Labour and Conservative parties and electorally, as the third party in a two party system, they were being targeted and squeezed by the others. These electoral currents proved too strong for Spencer and in another three-cornered fight in Bradford South he lost to Labour's William Hirst, even falling to the bottom of the poll behind the Conservatives.

Appointments

In 1924, Spencer was appointed to sit on a Board of Trade committee to look into

bankruptcy law Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. He was a strong adherent of

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

and land value taxation.United Committee for the Taxation of Land Values, Land & Liberty: ''Monthly Journal for Land Value Taxation and Free Trade, 1926'' p69

Golf

Spencer was a keen golfer and played in many tournaments. He also played for the House of Commons and was sometime member of the Golf Championship Committee.The Times, 12 May 1923 p12

Death

Spencer died in London on 23 February 1926 aged 56.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Herbert Harvey 1869 births 1926 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 Politicians from Bradford