Charles Roberts (British politician)

Charles Henry Roberts (22 August 1865 – 25 June 1959) was a British radical Liberal politician.[1]

Charles Henry Roberts
Photograph of Roberts, 1917
Member of Parliament for Derby
In office 1922–1923 Serving with J. H. Thomas
Preceded by	J. H. Thomas Albert Green
Succeeded by	J. H. Thomas William Raynes
Member of Parliament for Lincoln
In office 1906–1918
Preceded by	Charles Seely
Succeeded by	Alfred Davies
Comptroller of the Household
In office 1915–1916
Preceded by	The Lord Saye and Sele
Succeeded by	Sir Edwin Cornwall, Bt
Under-Secretary of State for India
In office 1914–1915
Preceded by	Edwin Montagu
Succeeded by	The Lord Islington
Personal details
Born	22 August 1865
Died	25 June 1959 (aged 93)
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Lady Cecilia Maude Howard ​ ​ (m. 1891; died 1947)​
Children	Wilfrid Roberts Winifred Nicholson
Education	Marlborough College
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford

Charles Roberts, 1910

Early life

Roberts was the son of Reverend Albert James Roberts, Vicar of Tidebrook, Sussex and Ellen Wace of Wadhurst, Sussex and was educated at Marlborough College and Balliol College, Oxford.[2]

He was a fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, where he taught from 1889 to 1895.

Career

He was the unsuccessful Liberal candidate for Wednesbury in the 1895 general election and for Lincoln in 1900. He was elected to Parliament for Lincoln in the 1906 general election and reelected in both elections in 1910.

He served under H. H. Asquith as Under-Secretary of State for India 1914 to 1915. He was then made both Comptroller of the Household and Chairman of the National Health Insurance Joint Committee from 1915 to 1916.

He lost his seat in 1918 when the Coalition Government gave endorsement to his Unionist opponent, but returned briefly to the House of Commons in 1922 when he was elected for Derby. However, he lost this seat in the 1923 general election and retired from national politics.

He afterwards committed himself to work creation schemes in Cumberland, reopening collieries and starting brickworks, limeworks and quarries. He also became involved in farming. From 1938–58 he was chairman of Cumberland County Council and the Cumberland branch of the National Farmers' Union. He also chaired the Aborigines' Protection Society. He was Chairman of the Cumberland War Agricultural Committee, 1939–47. He served as a Justice of the Peace in Cumberland from 1900 to 1950 and was Deputy Chairman of Cumberland Quarter Sessions until 1950.[2]

Personal life

On 7 April 1891, he was married Lady Cecilia Maude Howard, daughter of George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle.[3] They had one son and two daughters, including.

• Rosa Winifred Roberts (1893–1981), an artist who married the English painter Ben Nicholson.
• Wilfrid Hubert Wace Roberts (1900–1991), a Liberal MP who married three times.[4]

Lady Cecilia died in 1947.[5] Roberts died on 25 June 1959.

Election results

General election 1900 Lincoln[6] Electorate 8,846

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Charles Seely	4,002	50.4
	Liberal	Charles Roberts	3,935	49.6
Majority			67	0.8
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1906 Lincoln[6] Electorate 10,645

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Roberts	5,110	51.2	+1.6
	Liberal Unionist	Charles Seely	3,718	37.2	-3.2
	Conservative	Henry Page Croft	1,162	11.6	n/a
Majority			1,392	14.0	14.8
Turnout				93.8
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+7.4

General election January 1910 Lincoln[6] Electorate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Roberts	5,402	50.2	-1.0
	Conservative	Robert Filmer	3,236	30.1	+18.5
	Liberal Unionist	Charles Seely	2,129	19.8	-17.4
Majority			2,166	20.1	+6.1
Turnout			10,767
	Liberal hold		Swing

General election December 1910 Lincoln[6] Electorate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Roberts	5,484	52.9	+2.7
	Conservative	Robert Filmer	4,878	47.1	+17.0
Majority			606	5.8	-14.3
Turnout			10,362
	Liberal hold		Swing	-7.1

General election 1918: Lincoln[7] Electorate 31,365

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Alfred Davies	11,114	47.7	+0.6
	Labour	Robert Taylor	6,658	28.5	n/a
	Liberal	Charles Roberts	5,550	23.8	-29.1
Majority			4,456	19.2	25.0
Turnout				74.4
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+14.8

References

1. Tanner, Duncan (13 February 2003). Political Change and the Labour Party 1900-1918. ISBN 9780521530538.
2. "Obituary of Charles Henry Roberts". The Times, Friday, Jun 26, 1959. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
3. "Carlisle, Earl of (E, 1661)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
4. Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. 1931. p. 188.
5. ‘ROBERTS, Charles Henry’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Dec 2013
6. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
7. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig

• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Charles Roberts