Markham Spofforth (14 March 1825 – 26 January 1907) was a British solicitor and political agent. He was Principal Agent of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

from 1859 to 1870. A close adviser to

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

, he rebuilt the Conservative Party's system of agents in the constituencies, which had been destroyed in the party split of 1846. He came to know Disraeli after being the assistant to Philip Rose, Disraeli's personal lawyer and the Conservative party's first agent. Spofforth took over the role as Principal Agent when Rose had to resign in 1859 following accusations of corruption. He first married Agnes Loudon, daughter of John and

Jane Loudon Jane Wells Webb Loudon (19 August 1807 – 13 July 1858) (also known as Jane C. Loudon) was an English author and early pioneer of science fiction. She wrote before the term was coined, and was discussed for a century as a writer of Gothic fic ...

in 1858. She died in 1863. He married his second wife in 1889. She was Elizabeth Meller (née Peters), widow of

Walter Meller Walter Meller (1819 – 10 January 1886) was a British Conservative Party politician. Meller was elected Conservative MP for Stafford at the 1865 general election and held the seat until 1869, when the 1868 general election result was overtur ...

, Conservative MP for Stafford from 1865 until 1869. He resigned as Principal Agent in 1870, plagued by accusations of electoral corruption, and was succeeded by John Eldon Gorst. At Disraeli's instigation, Spofforth was appointed a Senior Taxing Master in Chancery in 1876. He was criticised for a lack of discretion. He died on 26 January 1907 at his home in Knightsbridge, London, and was buried in Kensal Green cemetery.

References

1825 births 1907 deaths Conservative Party (UK) officials English solicitors Masters of the High Court (England and Wales) {{England-bio-stub