James Philip Hodge (13 December 1879 – 12 July 1946) was a British

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician and lawyer.

Family & education

Hodge was the son of Archibald Hodge of

Hoole Hoole is a suburb in the east of Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The area is contiguous with Newton to the north and Vicars Cross to the south. The A41 road marks t ...

Park,

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

who had been miner in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. He was educated at the former Chester Cathedral Choir School. The school closed in 1975. He qualified as a chartered accountant and practised in Chester from the age of 21 but he relinquished this profession in favour of the law and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1917 and practiced law on the Northern Circuit. In the same year he married Anna Fortunée the daughter of Michel Venture a

shipowner A ship-owner is the owner of a merchant vessel (commercial ship) and is involved in the shipping industry. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain frei ...

from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. They had a daughter and a son. His wife died in 1944.

Military service

Before 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 ...

Hodge served as a private in the Inns of Court Officers' Training Corps. He later obtained a commission in the Army Pay Department and went to France in 1914. He also served in

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He was subsequently appointed Inspector of Pay Offices with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

Politics

Hodge was Liberal MP for

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

from 1922 to 1924. Preston was a two-member seat at that time. In the 1922 general election the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate topped the poll, with Hodge taking the second seat from the sitting Conservative member,

George Frederick Stanley Sir George Frederick Stanley (14 October 1872 – 1 July 1938) was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician who served as a member of the UK Parliament for Preston and later, Willesden East. He also served the Governor of Madras from ...

. At the general election of 1923, each of the political parties decided to stand only one candidate. The Tories thought seriously about putting up two candidates in the two member constituency on the grounds that this would have split the anti-Tory vote for the second seat and would have strongly discouraged their supporters from using the second vote for a Liberal or Labour candidate. In the event, Hodge held his seat. 1923-24 saw the arrival of the first Labour government under 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 ...

. The Conservatives had won the most seats but had lost their overall majority. The general election produced a hung parliament and Labour took office as a minority administration with the support of the Liberals. However their position was precarious and although the Liberals were desperate to avoid a third general election in three years, it was Liberal action in Parliament which started the process which led the downfall of the government. Hodge, however, was one of 12 rebel Liberals who supported the government in the crucial parliamentary vote of October 1924 which in effect brought about the end of the first Labour government. It was not enough to ensure he held his seat however as he lost at Preston at the 1924 general election, his seat being taken by a Conservative. At first he remained as Liberal parliamentary candidate for Preston but gave up citing ill health in 1927. However he seems to have been well enough to carry on his legal practice at least until 1929.''The Times'', 8.5.29, 5.7.29 & 11.7.29

Outside Parliament

Hodge took part in

sculling Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, it ...

, played golf and took a strong interest in

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Sources

*''Who was Who'', OUP 2007 * Obituary - ''The Times'', 15 July 1946 * See also

List of Liberal Party (UK) MPs This is a list of Liberal Party MPs. It includes all Members of Parliament elected to the British House of Commons representing the Liberal Party from 1922. This includes all those elected as National Liberals supporting David Lloyd George in ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, James Philip Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 1879 births 1946 deaths Members of the Inner Temple Royal Army Pay Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I London Regiment soldiers