James Milner, 1st Baron Milner of Leeds, (12 August 1889 – 16 July 1967), was a British Labour Party politician.

Biography

Milner was educated at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

and became a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

. He was a major in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was wounded, awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

and bar for his service. He was a

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...

lor and Deputy Lord Mayor of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in 1928, and was also Chairman of Leeds Labour Party and President of Leeds Law Society. He later became deputy-lieutenant of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

. He was elected as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds South East at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in August 1929, and served until 1951. He became Chairman of Ways and Means and Deputy Speaker and led the British Group of the

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

. He was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in 1945. In 1951, the

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, Douglas Clifton Brown, had stepped down. As Chairman of Ways and Means, Milner wanted to be Labour's first-ever Speaker. However, the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, now the majority party, nominated William Morrison. The

vote Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representative ...

went along party lines – the first time the post had been contested in the 20th century – and Milner lost. As some compensation, he was elevated to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as Baron Milner of Leeds, of

Roundhay Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011. It sits in the Roundhay (ward), Roundhay electoral, ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East (UK Parliament constituen ...

in the

City of Leeds Leeds, also known as the City of Leeds, is a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Gar ...

, on 20 December 1951.

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the lo ...

replaced him in the subsequent by-election.

Honours

and Bar (MC) * 1914–15 Star * British War Medal * WWI Victory Medal * Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (PC) (1945) * Freedom of the City of

(1967)

Personal life

Milner married Lois Tinsdale Brown on 10 February 1917. They had three children:The peerage.com, entry for 1st Lord Milner of Leeds
/ref> * Hon. (Lois Elizabeth Florence) Zaidée Milner (born 9 January 1919, died 1980) * (Arthur James) Michael Milner, 2nd Baron Milner of Leeds (born 12 September 1923, died 20 August 2003) * Hon. Shelagh Mary Margaret Milner (born 8 March 1925) Milner died in 1967 at the age of 77 and was succeeded in the barony by his only son, Michael. His remains are interred in the Garden of Remembrance at St John the Evangelist Church, Moor Allerton, Leeds.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Milner of Leeds, James Milner, 1st Baron 1889 births 1967 deaths Milner, James Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Milner, James Milner, James Milner, James Milner, James Milner, James Milner, James Milner, James Politics of Leeds Councillors in Leeds Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers Barons created by George VI 1 Alumni of the University of Leeds British Army personnel of World War I Devonshire Regiment officers Royal Army Service Corps officers Recipients of the Military Cross British solicitors Place of birth missing