(William) Theodore Carr

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(30 July 1866 – 31 January 1931) was an English

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and

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.

Personal life and career

Carr was born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

. He was educated at Old Hall School and Owens College, Manchester. In 1893, he married Edith Hobbs. Carr came from the family which founded the Carr's bakery and biscuit factory in Carlisle. He went into the family concern and eventually became Chairman of Directors of Carr & Co., Ltd, biscuit manufacturers, and of Carr's Flour Mills (Ltd), Carlisle. During the war Carr acted as the millers’ representative on the Millers’ Tribunal set up under the Ministry of Food. A keen motorist he was appointed to the command of the Cumberland Army Service Motor Mechanical Transport Volunteers.

Political and public life

At the 1918 general election, Carr was nominated as the Coalition Liberal candidate for his home town seat of

. On that occasion he had the support of the Carlisle Unionists who stood aside as they were part of the

Coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

and was presumably awarded the Coalition coupon. In a straight fight against

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 ...

he took 66% of the poll winning by a majority of 4,775 votes. With the fall of the Coalition in 1922, the Unionists voted to stand a candidate of their own in Carlisle, even though Carr had the support of some prominent Conservatives. The Carlisle Liberal Association had remained unified during the period of the Coalition, despite the national split between the supporters of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

and

H H Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

and again threw their support behind Carr, although he chose to stand as a National Liberal, indicating his status as a supporter of outgoing

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

David Lloyd George. However, in a three-cornered contest against Labour and Conservative opponents he fell to third in the poll as Labour took the seat with a majority of 1,301. Carr did not stand for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

again. Carr was awarded the

in 1920. He was also Chairman of the East Cumberland Munitions Committee and sometime President of the Cumberland and Westmoreland Association of London.The Times, 11 April 1929 p19

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, (William) Theodore 1866 births 1931 deaths UK MPs 1918–1922 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Politicians from Carlisle, Cumbria Cumbria MPs National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians