William Saunders (20 November 1823 – 1 May 1895) was a British newspaper publisher and

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 ...

politician who sat in the

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between 1885 and 1895.

Biography

Saunders was born in 1823 in Market Lavington, the youngest son of Mary and Amram Saunders. He went to school in

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

. Alfred Saunders (1820–1905) was an elder brother and Alfred's child Sarah Page was his niece. Saunders, who was a member of The Plymouth Institution (now

The Plymouth Athenaeum Plymouth Athenaeum, located in Plymouth, England, is a society dedicated to the promotion of learning in the fields of science, technology, literature and art. The Athenaeum building, located at Derry's Cross in Plymouth City Centre, includes a ...

), founded several newspapers. He established the ''

Western Morning News The ''Western Morning News'' is a daily regional newspaper founded in 1860, and covering the West Country including Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Somerset and Dorset in the South West of England. Organisation The ''Western M ...

'' at Plymouth in 1860 with Edward Spender. The ''Eastern Morning News'' was established at Hull and the first number appeared in January 1864. Saunders also established the Central News Agency, and was vice-president of the

United Kingdom Alliance The United Kingdom Alliance (UKA) was a temperance movement in the United Kingdom founded in 1853 in Manchester to work for the prohibition of the trade in alcohol in the United Kingdom. This occurred in a context of support for the type of law ...

, a

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. In the 1885 general election, Saunders was elected

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 o ...

for

Kingston upon Hull East Kingston upon Hull East is a borough constituency for the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years by the first-past-the-post electoral system. The constitu ...

but lost the seat in the 1886 general election. In January 1889, he was elected to the newly created

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

as a councillor representing the Walworth division of Newington. Nominated by the local Liberal and Radical Association, he took his seat as a member of the majority

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, allied to the parliamentary Liberals. He was re-elected in 1892 and held his seat until 1895. He returned to the

at the 1892 general election when he won

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

from the sitting

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 in ...

MP. He died in office in May 1895, triggering a by-election on 14 May in which the seat was regained by the Conservatives. Saunders married Caroline Spender and was great uncle of the poet

Stephen Spender Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist and essayist whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by th ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, William 1823 births 1895 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1892–1895 People from Devizes 19th-century British newspaper publishers (people) Members of London County Council Progressive Party (London) politicians