Sidney Reginald Daniels (18 September 1873 – 18 August 1937), was a British
Liberal Party politician, Civil Servant and Barrister-at-law.
Background
He was the son of Joseph Daniels and Clara Ada Isacke. He was educated at
Wycliffe College (Gloucestershire) and
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...
. He married in 1903, Caroline Hutchings. She died in 1908. In 1911 he then married Annie Fraser Dixon, of
Settle
Settle or SETTLE may refer to:
Places
* Settle, Kentucky, United States
* Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England
** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district
Music
* Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania
* ''S ...
.
Civil Service career
In 1893 he became a
Boden Sanscrit Scholar and entered
Indian Civil Service. From November 1915 to February 1916 he served as President of the Special Tribunal under the
Defence of India Act. From 1917-21 he was Legal Remembrancer to the
Government of the United Provinces. From 1921–25 he was Additional Judicial Commissioner, and subsequently
Judicial Commissioner of
Oudh. From 1925–28 he was
Puisne judge of the
High Court at Allahabad.
Political career
At parliamentary elections he contested, as a
Liberal party candidate
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
four times; first at the
1929 Bath by-election
The 1929 Bath by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 21 March 1929 for the constituency of Bath in Somerset.
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting MP, the Unionist Charles Foxcroft on 11 February 1929. He had ...
then at the General Elections of 1929, 1931 and 1935. The first occasion was at a by-election in March 1929, where he only just managed to hang on to second place. This was at the time that the Liberal party was experiencing something of a revival under the leadership of
David Lloyd George.
Just two months later he stood again at the General Election, where he again finished second.
His next contest was at the 1931 elections. This proved a difficult campaign as a National Government had been formed. Many Liberal candidates in Conservative held seats chose not to run against their partners in the National Government. This did not happen at Bath but the Liberal party nationally fought a weak campaign.
His last election campaign was fought under more normal circumstances as by now, the Liberal party had left the National government which had become Conservative in all but name. The result in Bath was an improvement as a consequence.
He did not stand for parliament again. He was Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the
Proportional Representation Society.
Daniels is an interesting example of a loyal Liberal politician who by being in India, had not experienced the divisions in the party between Lloyd George and Asquith. In the 1930s, during a period in which many Liberals either dropped out of active politics or left the party for another, Daniels kept going without personal reward.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Sidney Reginald
1873 births
1937 deaths
British Sanskrit scholars
Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates