Peter Wilson Raffan (1863 – 23 June 1940) 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. Raffan came from Newbridge,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, and in 1910 was chairman of the Monmouthshire County Council. When a general election was called in January 1910, P W Raffan was selected as Liberal candidate for

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in south Lancashire. John Brunner, the sitting 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 ...

, had chosen to stand in

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

. The constituency contained a large number of coalminers, and Raffan was opposed not only by the

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 ...

, but by Thomas Greenall of the Labour Party, who was a leader of the

Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation (LCMF) was a trade union that operated on the Lancashire Coalfield in North West England from 1881 until it became the Lancashire area of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1945. Background Colli ...

. Leigh was one of the few seats where Labour and Liberals ran against each other.P F Clarke, ''Lancashire and the New Liberalism'', Cambridge, 1971 Raffan won the seat easily. In the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

Raffan became secretary of the Land Values Group who sought reform in property taxation. He supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

disestablishment The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular stat ...

of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

and the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

. At the 1918 general election Raffan was re-elected at Leigh as a Liberal and received the "

coupon In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in r ...

" despite being an opponent of the Coalition Government. At the 1922 election he stood unsuccessfully for election as a Liberal at Ayr Burghs.''"The Times" List of Candidates'', The Times, 27 October 1922, p.8 At the succeeding 1923 general election he successfully contested Edinburgh North for the Liberals, unseating the Unionist MP, Patrick Johnstone Ford. He only held the seat for one year, with Ford regaining the seat in the 1924 general election.

References

External links

* 1863 births 1940 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Scottish Liberal Party MPs Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1923–1924 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Leigh {{Scotland-Liberal-UK-MP-stub