Sir John Tudor Walters
PC (25 February 1866 – 16 July 1933) was a Welsh architect,
surveyor 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.
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politician. He served as
Paymaster-General under
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 ...
from 1919 to 1922 and once again briefly in 1931 under
Ramsay MacDonald.
Political career
Walters was elected as the
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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
(MP) for
Sheffield Brightside
Sheffield, Brightside was a Borough constituency, parliamentary constituency in the Sheffield, City of Sheffield. Created for the 1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 general election, and replaced at the 2010 United Kingdom general elect ...
at the
1906 general election
The following elections occurred in the year 1906.
Asia
* 1906 Persian legislative election
Europe
* 1906 Belgian general election
* 1906 Croatian parliamentary election
* Denmark
** 1906 Danish Folketing election
** 1906 Danish Landsting ele ...
and was knighted in 1912.
He served as
Paymaster-General in the
Government of David Lloyd George from 1919 to 1922 and was sworn of the
Privy Council in 1919. He lost his seat at Sheffield at the
1922 general election.
He tried unsuccessfully to get back into 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. ...
in
1923
Events
January–February
* January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory).
* January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
at
Pudsey and Otley in the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
. He again stood for election to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
at the
1929 general election as Liberal candidate for the
Cornish seat of
Penryn and Falmouth. The seat was a marginal which had been won by the Liberals in 1923, but gained by the
Conservatives
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 ...
in 1924, although the incumbent Conservative MP did not seek re-election. Ultimately Walters gained the seat from the Conservatives with a majority of 1,138 votes, with the
Labour candidate finishing a relatively close third.
He was once again briefly Paymaster-General from September to November 1931 under
Ramsay MacDonald. He stood down from parliament at the
1931 general election.
Housing policy
He is best known for the
Tudor Walters Report that appeared just as the World War was ending in November 1918 and influence British housing policy for a century. Walters was inspired by the
garden city movement
The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, a ...
, calling for spacious low-density developments and semi-detached houses built to a high construction standard. Older women could now vote so local politicians started listening to them, and in response put more emphasis on such amenities as communal laundromats, extra bedrooms, indoor lavatories, running hot water, separate parlours to demonstrate respectability, and practical vegetable gardens rather than manicured yards.
Housewives had had their fill of chamber pots. His ''Report'' influenced
the Housing and Town Planning Act of 1919. With it Prime Minister
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 ...
set up a system of government housing that followed his 1918 campaign promises of "homes fit for heroes".
Called the "Addison Act", it required local authorities to survey their housing needs, and start building houses to replace slums. The treasury subsidized the low rents.
Slum clearance now moved from being a public health issue, to a matter of town planning.
[Noreen Branson, ''Britain in the Nineteen Twenties'' (1976) pp 103–17.]
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Tudor
1866 births
1933 deaths
Knights Bachelor
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1906–1910
UK MPs 1910
UK MPs 1910–1918
UK MPs 1918–1922
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Penryn and Falmouth
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians