George Wadsworth (politician)

For the United States diplomat, see George Wadsworth (diplomat).

George Wadsworth (10 December 1902 – 18 April 1979) was a businessman and Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom. He owned his own companies and sat for an East Yorkshire constituency.

George Wadsworth
Member of Parliament for Buckrose
In office 26 July 1945 – 3 February 1950
Preceded by	Albert Braithwaite
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Majority	949
Personal details
Born	(1902-12-10)10 December 1902
Died	18 April 1979(1979-04-18) (aged 76)
Political party	Liberal
Other political affiliations	National Liberal
Education	Heath Grammar School, Halifax Willaston College, Nantwich
Occupation	Businessman

Background

Wadsworth was a son of Arnold Holroyd Wadsworth, of Halifax. He was educated at Heath Grammar School, Halifax and Willaston College, Nantwich. In 1930 he married Guinevere Shepherd and together they had two daughters, Rosemary and Shirley. Shirley the eldest daughter, at age 13, was drowned in a tragic accident off the coast of North Wales in 1944.

Business career

Wadsworth was managing director of G Wadsworth & Sons Ltd, Wadsworth White Lead Co., Ltd and of G. Wadsworth and Son, Ltd. He was the founder Chairman of Halifax Round Table.

Political career

Wadsworth was a Liberal member of Halifax Town Council. He served from 1938 to 1945. He was Vice-Chairman of Halifax Watch, Safety First, Lighting Committee.

At the 1945 general election, Wadsworth was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for the East Riding of Yorkshire constituency of Buckrose. He gained the seat from the Conservatives by a majority of 949 votes, benefiting from the absence of a Labour candidate.

In the House of Commons, he served on the Public Accounts Select Committee from 1945 to 1949. He was a member of parliamentary delegations to Hungary, Switzerland and Italy. In 1949 he attended the European military exercises in Germany as a Parliamentary observer.

At the 1950 election, following boundary changes, Wadsworth contested the re-drawn seat of Bridlington. This time he had a Labour opponent as well as a Conservative. The Conservative comfortably won the seat.

Wadsworth contested the Sheffield Hillsborough constituency in the 1951 general election as a National Liberal candidate but failed to take the seat from Labour.

Election Results

General election 1945: Buckrose

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Wadsworth	15,934	51.5	+6.6
	Conservative	Albert Braithwaite	14,985	48.5	−6.6
Majority			949	3.1	13.2
Turnout				71.9	−6.5
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.6

General election 1950: Bridlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Wood	26,124	50.9	n/a
	Liberal	George Wadsworth	16,158	31.5	n/a
	Labour	Wilfrid Pashby	9,013	17.6	n/a
Majority			9,966	19.4	n/a
Turnout				81.9	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

General election 1951: Sheffield Hillsborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	George Darling	28,274	59.0	+0.3
	National Liberal	George Wadsworth	19,617	41.0	+1.2
Majority			8,657	18.0	−0.9
Turnout				84.9	−2.2
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	-0.5

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Wadsworth