Austin Hopkinson
Austin Hopkinson JP | |
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| Member of Parliament for Mossley | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 June 1879 Independent |
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Austin Hopkinson
Early life
Alfred Augustine Hopkinson was born in Manchester on 24 June 1879 the son of Sir Alfred Hopkinson KC who was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester from 1900 to 1913 and also served as Member of Parliament for Cricklade in the 1890s and for Combined English Universities in the 1920s. Although sharing the academic approach of his father, he applied his experience more directly to the problems of industry rather than taking up posts in the universities. He became a Justice of the Peace for Lancashire.
In 1900 Hopkinson enlisted in the Imperial Yeomanry and served in the Second Boer War as a lieutenant. On his return he founded a company, Pikrose (which bore the Audenshaw coat of arms as its company logo) at the Delta Works in Audenshaw. In 1908 he invented a revolutionary coal-cutting machine which his company made: he built a reputation as a very humane employer, and while the company was highly profitable he was uninterested in the trappings of wealth and lived frugally.
Hopkinson was elected as a councillor on Audenshaw Council from 1917 to 1934 and led the council from 1923 to 1924 and 1928–29. Long before it became fashionable, Hopkinson converted a derelict barn to a
Entry to politics
On 11 September 1918 news was received confirming that Cpt. Hon. Oswald Cawley (Liberal MP for Prestwich) had been killed in action in Palestine on 22 August. Hopkinson was picked as a Government-supporting Liberal candidate to succeed him, although he was not a member of any party; he was returned unopposed at the by-election on 28 October. On taking his seat he wore his uniform as a Trooper of the Royal Dragoon Guards.
Hopkinson did not have time to get acquainted with the House before the end of the war pitched him into a re-election battle. Owing to boundary changes he fought the new
Political activities
Initially, as shown by his choice of taking his seat in uniform, Hopkinson was particularly active on military matters, calling for 'democracy under discipline' and a recognition that democratic forces were present when reconstructing the Army. He was a member of the House of Commons Army Committee in 1919, and the following year criticised the actions of Brigadier-General
By the end of 1920 Hopkinson was already making a reputation for being one of the best speakers and most independent minds in the House, although he was still officially sitting as a Coalition Liberal. He became increasingly involved in industrial topics in which he was critical of the
Independence
On 22 March 1922 Hopkinson wrote to The Times to suggest that ballot papers include a box in which voters could express their disapproval of all the candidates on offer. He was by now of this opinion himself: the previous month, he stopped receiving the Coalition Liberal whip, which he explained, his friends in the Liberal Party had been sending him by courtesy but which he had never considered binding. He strongly criticised as "humbug" the 1922 budget which reduced income tax without any corresponding reduction in government spending.
At the 1922 general election Hopkinson therefore found himself opposed by an official Liberal Party candidate who had been Lord Mayor of Manchester in 1921–22. However, his local connections and good works saw Hopkinson re-elected with 58% of the vote. At the 1923 election, Hopkinson's outspoken support for free trade helped him fight off a renewed attempt by the Liberal Party to regain the seat, although his majority was reduced to only 375 votes. The local Conservative Party supported him at these elections, and despite his support for free trade he backed the Baldwin government in the motion of no confidence in January 1924. Hopkinson grew personally very friendly with Baldwin.
At the Westminster Abbey by-election in March 1924, Hopkinson signed the nomination papers for Winston Churchill who had fallen out with the Liberal Party and was standing as an Independent Constitutionalist. Although Churchill failed on this occasion, it was only by 43 votes. At the 1924 general election, Hopkinson had opposition from both the Labour Party and the Liberals; he was re-elected more comfortably with Labour outpolling the Liberal candidate by more than two to one.
Baldwin
In March 1926 Hopkinson had the pleasure of formally introducing his father Alfred to the House of Commons, after he won
By the late 1920s, Hopkinson was expressing the hope that Stanley Baldwin would be elected as a free trader in order to save the country from David Lloyd George who had left the country open to socialism "and its twin brother, protection". He was again supported by the Conservatives in the 1929 general election, but in one of the shock results of the election, lost his seat by 5,029 votes to Herbert Gibson, the Labour candidate. Hopkinson kept up his contribution of articles expressing unorthodox thoughts to journals while out of Parliament, blaming the Wall Street Crash of 1929 on an American attempt to restrict imports.
Return to Parliament
At the
Hopkinson continued to support free trade and Baldwin, and in the 1935 general election the putative Conservative candidate withdrew in his favour. Baldwin wrote to Hopkinson (under the salutation "Dear Hoppy") that "You have been one of my most loyal supporters in good times and in bad when I needed friends most". Hopkinson had a straight fight with Labour and the official backing of the National government, saying that he would take the National Government whip if elected. He won by only 2,170 votes in a constituency that was suffering in the economic difficulties.
In March 1936 Hopkinson was injured in a flying accident, aviation having long been a private hobby. He was making a forced landing in bad weather near Warrington when his aeroplane overturned; fortunately it hit a hedge and did not crush him. Unluckily he suffered light injuries in a second accident the next month, at Rochester airport in Kent when his aircraft went into a spin. In March 1938 Hopkinson was hit by a car near his home, and had to recover in hospital.
Rearmament and war
Hopkinson's knowledge of flying led to his strong support for rearmament especially of the Royal Air Force and on 16 November 1938 he declared that the Chamberlain government's inadequate action in that area made it impossible for him to continue to support the government, and resigned the whip. In an article he wrote shortly after, he declared that Conservative Associations should not select "crooks and half-wits" as Parliamentary candidates. However he continued to back the government on the issue of Palestine.
Hopkinson considered his warnings had been amply justified when the
As the war was coming to an end, Hopkinson uncovered a financial scandal involving the Air Ministry and the British Overseas Airways Corporation in a speech on 19 December 1944. He opposed the outcome of the Yalta Conference which accepted a Soviet sphere of influence in eastern Europe.
Later life
At the
Hopkinson never married.
References
- Who's Who of British MPs, volume 3 by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester, Brighton, 1979) ISBN 0-391-00768-8
- Times Guide to the House of Commons from 1929 to 1945 (The Times, London)
- British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 by ISBN 0-900178-06-X
External links
- A tribute to Austin Hopkinson from Tameside Council
- 1924 photograph from National Portrait Gallery
External links
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