William Allen (1870 – 11 September 1945) was a politician in

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who served as a

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 ...

(MP) from 1892 to 1900, and – after a gap of more than thirty years – from 1931 to 1935. Allen was the son of

William Shepherd Allen William Shepherd Allen (22 June 1831 – 15 January 1915) was an English Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. He also worked as a farmer and served as an MP in New Zealand. Biography Allen was born at Manchester, the son of William Allen and ...

, also an MP. He first entered the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

at the 1892 general election. Aged only 22, he was elected as the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

MP for

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

, defeating the incumbent

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

MP, Douglas Coghill. He was re-elected at the 1895 election, but was defeated at the 1900 general election. This was on account of his active service in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. He did not seek election again until the 1924 general election, when he stood as a

Constitutionalist Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional ...

candidate in the Burslem constituency. In 1924, Constitutionalist candidates were either Unionist or Liberal candidates who were supported by both local party associations. As a group, they wished to see the return of a Coalition Government. Allen narrowly lost the two-way contest to his Labour Party opponent

Andrew MacLaren Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

. Allen did not stand in 1929, but when he stood as a Constitutionalist/

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

candidate at the 1931 general election he won the seat from MacLaren. After the election Allen took the Liberal National whip in the House of Commons. MacLaren regained the seat, defeating Allen at the 1935 general election. Allen did not stand again. He lived at the Allen family home,

Woodhead Hall Woodhead Hall is a country house at Cheadle in Staffordshire. It is a Grade II listed building. History Woodhead Hall was originally commissioned by a Mr Leigh and completed in 1720. It was acquired by William Allen, a merchant, in the 1840s and ...

, in Cheadle.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, William 1870 births 1945 deaths Military personnel from Staffordshire Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians UK MPs 1931–1935 British military personnel of the Second Boer War Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Newcastle-under-Lyme English barristers