John Frederick Lees (1809 – 1867) was a British landowner and

Liberal Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by li ...

politician who represented

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a

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from 1835 to 1837.

Biography

Lees was the grandson of a cotton manufacturer, a local mill-owner, mine-owner, and landowner: the

Lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of Oldham and an

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graduate, but was dismissed as "a gentleman... qualified neither by age nor ability to fulfill the duties of a member of the imperial parliament" by the ''

Manchester Times The ''Manchester Times'' was a weekly newspaper published in Manchester, England, from 1828 to 1922. It was known for its free trade radicalism. From 1828 to 1847, the newspaper was edited by Archibald Prentice, a political radical and advocate ...

.'' ''

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official prin ...

'' reports him to have made no speeches in Parliament during his term.

Politics

Thanks to internal squabbles (principally over the desired relationship between the state and the

Anglican church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

) amongst the Radicals of Oldham,the divisions between Oldham Radicals are explored at length in ; pages 31-59 cover the period 1832-7 he was elected as a 'Liberal Conservative' at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

caused by the death of

William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restrain foreign ...

, narrowly defeating John Morgan Cobbett (Cobbett's son) after another Radical candidate (

Feargus O'Connor Feargus Edward O'Connor (18 July 1796 – 30 August 1855) was an Irish Chartist leader and advocate of the Land Plan, which sought to provide smallholdings for the labouring classes. A highly charismatic figure, O'Connor was admired for his ...

) withdrew on the first morning of the

poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Figurative head counts * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling places o ...

. Lees attributed his victory to the absence of the organised 'intimidation system' he claimed had been practiced in the previous contested election ( that of 1832). By the general election of 1837 the Radicals had regrouped, and Lees came bottom of the poll: this he attributed to the return of intimidation and '

exclusive dealing In Economics and Law, exclusive dealing arises when a supplier entails the buyer by placing limitations on the rights of the buyer to choose what, who and where they deal. This is against the law in most countries which include the USA, Austra ...

References

External links

History of Parliament Online - LEES, John Frederick (1809-1867), of Werneth, Oldham, Lancs.
(currently (Feb 2016) at 'preview' status - password protected) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lees, John Frederick People from Oldham UK MPs 1835–1837 Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham 1809 births 1867 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies