Sir Percy Harris, 1st Baronet
Sir Percy Alfred Harris, 1st Baronet, PC (6 March 1876 – 28 June 1952) was a British Liberal Party politician.Percy Harris was regarded as a radical Liberal with a strong social conscience, which grew from representing a working-class area of the East End of London.He was not expected to win and in an election that saw the Liberals sweep the country Harris came within 400 votes of toppling his Conservative opponent.He contested Bethnal Green South West alongside his running mate Stewart Headlam and they were both elected.In 1914, Harris was adopted as prospective Liberal candidate for the Harborough division of Leicestershire for the general election expected to take place either in 1914 or 1915.Harris was re-adopted by the local Liberals and his candidacy was also officially endorsed by both the Unionist and Labour parties, due to the wartime electoral truce.[7]: 40–41 The split with the Harborough Liberals gave Harris the freedom to pursue a parliamentary career in Bethnal Green South West, the seat he represented on the LCC.At the 1922 general election, Harris faced the Unionist MP who had taken the seat from the Liberals in 1914 and a Communist who had Labour Party support.During the 1924–29 parliament which was dominated by a Unionist majority, Harris worked closely with a group of radical Liberal MPs that included William Wedgwood Benn, Frank Briant, Joseph Kenworthy and Horace Crawfurd to provide opposition to the government.[9] Harris played a key role in the formation of Liberal International in 1947 and was President of the British Council of LI.In 1950, Harris sought a similar return to parliament for the new merged seat of Bethnal Green, but in a bad year for the Liberals, finished a distant second.
The Right HonourableHarboroughPaddy LoganSir Keith FraserBethnal Green South WestSir Matthew WilsonPercy HolmanKensingtonLiberal PartyMarguerite Frieda BloxamJack HarrisHarrow SchoolAlma materTrinity Hall, CambridgeLiberal Chief WhipEast End of LondonLondon County CouncilH. H. AsquithDavid Lloyd GeorgeSir Herbert SamuelLiberal NationalSir John SimonArchie SinclairSir William BeveridgeHarrowMiddle TempleLiberal DemocratMatthew Taylor1906 general electionAshford1907 London County Council electionProgressive PartyStewart HeadlamJanuary 1910 general electionJames GibbDecember 1910 general election1911 Bethnal Green South West by-electionCharles Masterman1916 Harborough by-electiona strong opponentParliamentMaurice Debate1918 general electionwas endorsedJohn Wycliffe BlackNational Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers1922 general electionWilliam Wedgwood BennFrank BriantJoseph KenworthyHorace CrawfurdNational Government1931 general electionBaronetSir Archie SinclairWalter ReaPrivy CounsellorBeveridge Report1945 general electionChiswickLiberal InternationalBethnal GreenSt Nicholas Church, ChiswickEdward Bainbridge Copnallresurrection of the deadChiswick MallConservativeLaurence HardyLiberalTurnoutHarry Mallaby-DeeleyProgressiveMunicipal ReformMalcolm Campbell-JohnstonIndependentThomas Gibson BowlesUnionistKeith FraserLabourWalter BakerJoe VaughanCommunistMathew Wilson1923 general election1924 general election1929 general electionRobert Dunstan1935 general electionGeorge JegerLabour Co-opNational Liberal1950 general electionWho's WhoList of members of London County Council 1889–1919List of members of London County Council 1919–37The London GazetteHistoric EnglandNational Heritage List for EnglandF. W. S. CraigCraig, F. W. S.Oxford Dictionary of National BiographyJewish ChronicleHansardNational Portrait Gallery, LondonParliament of the United KingdomMember of ParliamentTom HorabinArchibald SinclairMegan Lloyd GeorgeBaronetage of the United Kingdom