Henry Purchase
Henry Purchase | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Kennington | |
In office 14 December 1918 – 26 October 1922 | |
Preceded by | Sir Stephen Collins |
Succeeded by | Francis Capel Harrison |
Personal details | |
Born | 1873 |
Died | 14 September 1945 | (aged 71–72)
Political party | Liberal |
Spouses |
Kathleen Roberts
(m. 1902; died 1910) |
Henry George Purchase (1873 – 14 September 1945) was an English barrister and Liberal politician.
Family and education
Henry George Purchase was the son of George and Victoria Purchase of
Career
Following his university degree, Purchase took further law examinations and in 1913 he was
During the
Politics
1918
Sir Stephen Collins, the Liberal
Purchase faced two opponents, for the Unionists,
Purchase held the seat for the Liberals and the Coalition with a majority of 1,132 votes and 42% of the poll, Mrs Lucas polled 32% and Glennie came third with 25%.[10] Although this was a good majority compared with the 55 votes by which Sir Stephen Collins had defeated Colonel Lucas in December 1910, it was perhaps closer than some commentators anticipated, given the landslide for the Coalition which had taken place overall. One historian has written of Mrs Lucas’ result that she was ‘probably the first woman to discover that there is nothing like bereavement, injury or childbirth to commend a candidate to the British electorate.’[11]
Government office
Following his attachment as Assistant Director to the Ministry of Food in 1918,[12] in its Enforcement Branch, Purchase was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chairman of the National Insurance Joint Committee in 1919. He also served as Hon. Secretary to Coastwise Traffic Parliamentary Committee and was a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee of the Lords and Commons.[13]
1922-1935
Purchase defended his seat at the 1922 general election as a Lloyd George National Liberal against Labour and Conservative opponents. In a reversal of fortune from 1918, Purchase found himself at the bottom of the poll with just 16.6% of the votes cast. The seat was won for the Tories by Francis Capel Harrison with a majority of 2,411 votes.[10]
Purchase made regular attempts to get back into the
Other appointments
In 1899, Purchase had been appointed as one of the Hon Secretaries to the Tercentenary Celebration of the birth of
The following year Purchase became an Assistant Secretary of the New Reform Club, a club founded in 1900 as a social rallying point for what was then called ‘advanced Liberal organisations’ (that is those supporting radical policies such as those embodied in
Purchase also furthered his political ambitions by becoming the Secretary to the Committee of London Liberal MPs in which capacity he served from 1918–1922 and in 1930 he was a member of the Bar delegation to Canada and the United States.[1]
Publications
In 1931, Purchase produced a legal text book, The Law relating to Documents of Title to Goods, published by Sweet & Maxwell Ltd.
References
- ^ a b c d Who was Who, OUP 2007
- ^ Debrett’s House of Commons 1922, p131
- ^ a b The Times House of Commons, 1919; Politico’s Publishing, 2004 p20
- .
- ^ The Times, 12 December 1918 p6
- ^ The Times, 13 December 1918 p10
- ^ Pamela Brookes, Women at Westminster; Peter Davies, London, 1967 p12
- ^ The Times, 17 December 1918 p10
- ^ The Times, 18 December 1918 p5
- ^ a b F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p34
- ^ Pamela Brookes, Women at Westminster; Peter Davies, London, 1967 p14
- ^ Times House of Commons 1929, Politico’s Publishing 2003, p46
- ^ Debrett’s House of Commons, 1922, p131
- ^ Times House of Commons 1929, Politico’s Publishing 2003, p46
- ^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p167
- ^ Times House of Commons 1931, Politico’s Publishing 2003, p84
- ^ Times House of Commons 1935, Politico’s Publishing 2003, p50
- ^ The Times, 31 October 1899 p8
- ^ The Times, 26 April 1899 p12
- ^ The Times, 15 November 1899 p7
- ^ The Times, 23 February 1899 p6
- ^ The Times, 27 November 1899 p11
- ^ The Times, 22 March 1900 p6