John Frederick Lees

John Frederick Lees (1809 in Oldham – 1867 in Cheltenham)[1] sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a Member of Parliament for Oldham from 1835 to 1837.

Biography

The grandson of a cotton manufacturer,[2] he was a local mill-owner,[3] mine-owner,[4] and landowner: the Lord of the manor[5] and an Oxford graduate,[6] but dismissed as "a gentleman... qualified neither by age nor ability to fulfill the duties of a member of the imperial parliament" by the Manchester Times:[7] Hansard reports him to have made no speeches in Parliament.[8]

Politics

Thanks to internal squabbles (principally over the desired relationship between the state and the Anglican church) amongst the Radicals of Oldham,[9] he was elected as a 'Liberal Conservative' at a by-election caused by the death of William Cobbett, narrowly defeating John Morgan Cobbett (Cobbett's son) after another Radical candidate (Feargus O'Connor) withdrew on the first morning of the poll.[10] Lees attributed his victory to the absence of the organised 'intimidation system' he claimed had been practiced in the previous contested election (that of 1832).[11] By the general election of 1837 the Radicals had regrouped, and Lees came bottom of the poll:[12] this he attributed to the return of intimidation and 'exclusive dealing'.[13]

References
  1. "Deaths". Blackburn Standard. 25 September 1867. p. 3.
  2. The Admission Register of the Manchester School with some Notices of the more Distinguished Scholars. Manchester University Press. 1874. pp. 150–. GGKEY:LJ44YNJ692P. - entry for Edward Lees
  3. "Oldham - Cotton Mill Burnt". Manchester Times. 5 December 1840. p. 3.
  4. "Oldham, September 23, 1836: Explosion of Fire-damp - Shocking Accident". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 24 September 1836. p. 3.
  5. "News of the Neighbouring Towns - Oldham- Turnpike Roads". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 7 June 1851. p. 8.
  6. "Marriages". Preston Chronicle. 24 December 1831. p. 3.
  7. "Representation of Oldham". Manchester Times. 4 July 1835. p. 3.
  8. "People: Mr John Lees".
  9. the divisions between Oldham Radicals are explored at length in Bickerstaffe, Derek (1964). "Politic and party organisation in Oldham" (PDF). Durham E-Theses Online. Durham University. Retrieved 25 February 2016.; pages 31-59 cover the period 1832-7
  10. The Spectator. F.C. Westley. 1835. p. 651.
  11. "Oldham Operative Conservative Association". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 7 January 1837. p. 4.
  12. "Local Intelligence - Oldham". Manchester Times. 29 July 1837. p. 3.
  13. "Oldham Conservative Festival". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 6 January 1838. p. 3.
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