Maurice Alexander (barrister)

Maurice Alexander
Maurice Alexander
	Thomas Ellis Naylor
Personal details
Born	24 December 1889; Labour party (UK), National Government
Alma mater	McGill University
Occupation	lawyer, diplomatic service, & military officer

Maurice Alexander,

Diplomatic Service

, English law and politics.

Family and education

Maurice Alexander was born into a

JP. He was educated at McGill University in Montreal, where he was a Gold Medallist of the Literary Society. He obtained BA and BCL degrees.^[1]

Career

Alexander went in for the law. He was

called to the bar of Quebec in 1910 and became a member of the firm of Davidson, Wainwright, Alexander and Elder barristers of Montreal.^[1]

In 1911, he was commissioned as a lieutenant of the

mentioned in despatches and in 1917 he won the CMG.^[3]

In 1918 he entered the service of the Overseas Department of the

British Embassy in Washington from 1919 to 1920.^[4] He returned to the United Kingdom to practice law and was called to English Bar at the Middle Temple in 1920^[5] and was appointed to North Eastern Circuit. In 1922 he was appointed King's Counsel by the government of Canada.^[6]

Alexander also had private business interests. He was a director of the Elkington Co., Ltd, of Birmingham and London.^[1]

Politics

1922

Alexander was on the

Thomas Ellis Naylor, winning with a majority of 2,280 votes.^[7]

1923

The next general election followed quickly in 1923, on the issue of whether to reintroduce or 'reform' tariffs, and following Bonar Law's death. By this time, the Lloyd George National/Coalition Liberals had reunited with the Independent Liberals, led by former Prime Minister H. H. Asquith. In Southwark South East, Alexander, standing as a Liberal (without the prefix) had another straight fight with Naylor. Although the 1923 general election was largely successful for the reunited Liberals, bringing it 30% of the popular vote and 158 seats, this was almost entirely at the expense of the Conservatives in rural and suburban seats. The story against Labour in working class and industrial seats was very different.^[8] Alexander lost his seat to Naylor by a majority of 1,490 votes.^[7]

1924

The 1923 general election brought to power the

deposit.^[10]

1929–1931

Alexander did not contest the 1929 general election, apparently reverting to his law practice in London, but in 1931, perhaps influenced by his defeat by Buxton, he surfaced as the Labour candidate in Newcastle upon Tyne East. However, in a straight fight with the sitting MP, the Liberal National, Sir Robert Aske, he lost by the wide margin of 10,346 votes.^[4]

National candidate

Alexander did not contest any further Parliamentary elections, but in 1938, it was reported that he was likely to be selected as the candidate of the

Sir John Simon's Liberal Nationals.^[12]

Death

Alexander died suddenly at his flat at Chesterfield House, South Audley Street, Mayfair, aged 55 years.^[13]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Who was Who, OUP 2007
^ The Times, 4 October 1922 p6
^ Louis Rosenberg & Morton Weinfeld (ed.), Canada’s Jews: a social and economic study of Jews in Canada in the 1930s; McGill Queen’s Press, 1993 p251
^ ^a ^b The Times House of Commons 1931; Politico’s Publishing 2003 p49
^ The Times, 14 April 1920 p5
^ The Times, 4 October 1922 p4
^ ^a ^b F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Elections Results 1918–1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p50
^ David Dutton, A History of the Liberal Party in the Twentieth Century; Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 p92
^ Chris Cook, A Short History of the Liberal Party, 1900–1992; Macmillan, 1993 p99
^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Elections Results 1918–1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p433
^ The Times, 17 February 1938 p11
^ The Times, 6 April 1938 p17
^ The Times, 17 July 1945 p4

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Thomas Ellis Naylor	Member of Parliament for Southwark South East 1922 – 1923	Succeeded by Thomas Ellis Naylor

[Who_was_Who,_OUP_2007-1] Who was Who, OUP 2007

[2] The Times, 4 October 1922 p6

[3] Louis Rosenberg & Morton Weinfeld (ed.), Canada’s Jews: a social and economic study of Jews in Canada in the 1930s; McGill Queen’s Press, 1993 p251

[ReferenceA-4] The Times House of Commons 1931; Politico’s Publishing 2003 p49

[5] The Times, 14 April 1920 p5

[6] The Times, 4 October 1922 p4

[S_Craig,_p50-7] F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Elections Results 1918–1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p50

[8] David Dutton, A History of the Liberal Party in the Twentieth Century; Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 p92

[9] Chris Cook, A Short History of the Liberal Party, 1900–1992; Macmillan, 1993 p99

[10] F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Elections Results 1918–1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p433

[11] The Times, 17 February 1938 p11

[12] The Times, 6 April 1938 p17

[13] The Times, 17 July 1945 p4

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