Just when you thought the political clamour was over for another five years, local historian David Croom has been looking back to when Barnard Castle elected its own MP to Westminster
From Tony Blair in Sedgefield to Rishi Sunak in Richmond, this area has had its fair share of political heavyweights, but did you know that before Barnard Castle was part of the Bishop Auckland constituency the town had its own MP in Westminster?
Following the Redistribution of Seats Act in 1885 Barnard Castle became one of eight new single member divisions in County Durham, replacing the previous system of electing two member seats for each of the two constituencies of North and South Durham.
Sir Joseph Pease (Barnard Castle MP 1885-1903) Liberal
Sir Joseph Pease was the first MP for Barnard Castle and was elected in the General Election of 1885. He beat Patrick Bowes-Lyon great uncle of Queen Elizabeth II who was the Conservative candidate by 3,505 votes.
He was a wealthy Quaker Industrialist from Darlington.
Joseph went on to win the Barnard Castle seat for the Liberals in the next three General Elections in 1892, 1895 and 1900.
Joseph Pease died in 1903 aged 75 while still serving as MP for Barnard Castle forcing a by-election.
The Barnard Castle by-election of 1903 was contested by the Conservatives, Liberals and for the first time the recently founded Labour Representation Committee the forerunner to the modern Labour Party.
Arthur Henderson (Barnard Castle MP 1903-1918) Labour
Arthur Henderson was elected MP for Barnard Castle in the by-election of 1903, having previously been the political agent for Sir Joseph Pease. He was the candidate for the newly formed Labour Representation Committee, narrowly beating the Conservative candidate Colonel William Lyonel Vane, brother of the 9th Lord Barnard by only 47 votes.
In the 1906 General Election Arthur Henderson retained his Barnard Castle seat with an increased majority of 1,652 beating Conservative candidate E. W. Morrison-Bell.
Two General Elections were held in 1910, in January and December due to a hung parliament in January. Arthur Henderson retained his Barnard Castle seat in both beating the Liberal Unionist candidate H. G. Stobart. Arthur Henderson was leader of the Labour Party for the January election having taken over from James Keir-Hardie who had resigned in 1908 but had resigned the leadership by the December election.
The next General Election didn’t take place until 1918 but in 1915 Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith decided to create a coalition government and Arthur Henderson became the first member of the Labour Party to become a member of the Cabinet as President of The Board of Education and later a Member of the War Cabinet. He resigned in 1917 after his proposal for an international conference on the war was rejected by the rest of the Cabinet.
Henderson didn’t stand for Barnard Castle in the 1918 General Election, but later went on to win seats in other constituencies around the country. He served as Home Secretary in the first ever Labour Government in 1924 and as Foreign Secretary in the Labour Government of 1929.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 for his work in trying to avert World War II.
John Swan (Barnard Castle MP 1918-1922) Labour
John Edmund Swan won the Barnard Castle seat for Labour in the 1918 General Election that was held shortly after peace was declared following the end of World War I.
John Swan beat Conservative John Rogerson into second place by a majority of 1,631. He narrowly lost his Barnard Castle seat at the next General Election in 1922 to his Conservative opponent John Rogerson.
Having been a miner in the Durham coalfields before entering politics after he lost his seat he devoted his time to the Durham Miners’ Association serving as its President from 1935 to 1945. He also remained active in the Labour Party.
John Rogerson (Barnard Castle MP 1922-1923) Conservative
John Edwin Rogerson won the Barnard Castle seat for the Conservative Party in the 1922 General Election beating John Swan the Labour Party incumbent by just 219 votes.
Unfortunately his tenure was very short due a another General Election being called the following year in 1923 where he lost the seat to Labour.
The Conservatives under Andrew Bonar-Law had won the election but due to a terminal illness the leader had to stand down and was replaced by Stanley Baldwin.
Parliament was dissolved on October 26, 1923, and Andrew Bonar-Law died four days later.
Moss Turner-Samuels (Barnard Castle MP 1923-1924) Labour
Moss Turner-Samuels won the Barnard Castle seat for Labour in the 1923 election beating John Rogerson the Conservative incumbent by 1,689 votes.
However his was another short tenure as another General Election was called the following year.
The Conservatives under Stanley Baldwin had won the most seats but Labour and the Liberals had got enough seats between them to result in a hung parliament.
Labour and the Liberals combined forces to vote down the King’s speech leading to the fall of the Conservative government and leading to the first ever Labour government supported by the Liberals.
However being a minority government the Labour party only held power for ten months resulting in the third General Election in two years in October 1924.
Sir Cuthbert Moreley Headlam (Barnard Castle MP1924-1929) Conservative
Sir Cuthbert Morley Headlam won the Barnard Castle seat for the Conservatives in 1924 beating the Labour incumbent Moss Turner-Samuels.
He belonged to a minor gentry family with roots in North Yorkshire. Prior to being elected MP for Barnard Castle he had been a Clerk in the House of Lords and was a barrister. He was mentioned in dispatches in the First World War and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and given an O.B.E. He retired from the military as a lieutenant colonel. He was created a Baronet in the 1935 Birthday Honours.
He lost the Barnard Castle seat in the 1929 General Election.
Sir William Lawther (Barnard Castle MP 1929-1931) Labour
Will Lawther won the Barnard Castle seat for Labour in the General Election of 1929 beating the incumbent Cuthbert Headlam Morley by 875 votes. Previously a coal miner from Northumberland he was active in the Northumberland Miners’ Association. He stood unsuccessfully for Labour in South Shields in the 1922, 1923, and 1924 General Elections. He lost his seat in 1931 and returned to Trade Union activities. He held the posts of President of the National Union of Mineworkers and President of the Trades Union Congress. He was knighted for his services in 1949. He died in 1976 aged 86.
Sir Cuthbert Morley Headlam (Barnard Castle MP 1931-1935) Conservative
Sir Cuthbert Morley Headlam won the Barnard Castle seat for the second time in 1931 for the Conservatives beating the incumbent Will Lawther by 2,434 votes. He had stood unsuccessfully in the Gateshead by-election in June 1931 coming a close second to Labour in what was considered to be a safe Labour seat.
Thomas Sexton (Barnard Castle MP 1935-1945) Labour
Thomas Sexton won the Barnard Castle seat for Labour in the General Election of 1935 beating the incumbent Cuthbert Headlam Morley by 1,320 votes. He had previously studied at Durham University and had been a teacher. He was head teacher at Stanhope County School.
He held the Barnard Castle seat for ten years until he stepped down at the 1945 election.
Sydney Robert Charles Lavers (Barnard Castle MP 1945-1950) Labour
Sydney Lavers won the Barnard Castle seat for Labour in 1945 with a majority of 3,424 over the Conservative candidate Sir Giffard Le Quesne Martel. He had previously served in the First World War. After the war he became an organiser with the National Union of General and Municipal Workers and active in the Labour Party.
Sydney Lavers was the last MP for Barnard Castle as the seat was abolished due to boundary changes before the 1950 General Election.
