![1925 William Preston](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/1925_William_Preston.jpg)
William Preston (February 1874 - 22 November 1941) was a British industrialist and
Conservative
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 i ...
politician.
Biography
Born in 1874, Preston was educated at
Walsall Grammar School and Weston School,
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 ...
.
In 1907 he married Lilly Swinton Sanders, and he became managing director of William Sanders & Co (Wednesbury) Limited, a major manufacturer of electrical switching equipment. He played
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
for
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
in the
Minor Counties Championship
The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...
, making one appearance in 1901 against
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
and another in 1911, against
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
.
At the
1924 general election, Preston was chosen as Conservative candidate for the
Walsall constituency. He unseated the sitting
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 ...
MP,
Patrick Collins. However, following his election, it was discovered that Preston had received payments for two small contracts to supply electrical fittings to the Post Office stores department. As a government contractor, Preston was ineligible to stand for Parliament, and his election was declared void.
Having overcome his legal difficulties, Preston was selected as Conservative candidate at the ensuing
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
. The poll was held on 27 February, and Preston was elected ahead of Liberal and
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 ...
candidates, with a similar majority to that gained at the 1924 election.
Preston was only a member of 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. ...
for one term. At the
1929 general election there was a swing to Labour, and he was defeated by the party's candidate
John James McShane
John James McShane (1 October 1882 – 26 May 1972) was a British school teacher and Labour politician.
Early life
He was born in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and was the son of Philip McShane, a coalminer, and his wife Bridget. Both his paren ...
. He retired from politics. William Preston died after a long illness at his home, Gorway,
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
in November 1941, aged 67.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, William
1874 births
1941 deaths
English cricketers
Staffordshire cricketers
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1924–1929