Frank Davis (Liberal politician)

Davis in 1968

Frank Liberal Davis (June 1920 - unknown) was a British Liberal Party politician who successfully campaigned to have political party names included on the ballot paper for UK elections. He served as Mayor of Finchley.

Background

He was born as Frank Davis. He was educated at elementary and central schools and at Regent Street Polytechnic. ^[1] In 1946 he co-founded the Jewish soccer club, Wingate F.C. The Frank Davis clock on the Jack Fisk Stand commemorates his involvement with the club.

Professional career

He was a Company Executive. ^[2] He was a partner in a clothing firm. He ran a local fleet of private buses in competition with London Transport.

Political career

He was an early pioneer of Community Politics that became synonymous with Liberal success at local government level. He invented the 'Grumble Sheet' which encouraged public feedback. ^[3] In 1957 he was elected as a Liberal for Manor ward in the elections to the Municipal Borough of Finchley. He was one of the two Liberals who made the initial breakththrough onto Finchley Council. In 1960 he was re-elected as a Liberal for Manor ward in the elections to the Municipal Borough of Finchley. In 1963 he was re-elected as a Liberal for Manor ward in the Finchley Borough Council elections, polling 52% of the vote. Following the 1963 Finchley elections, the Liberal Party won control of the council. Davis was elected as Mayor of Finchley and served a one year term. ^[4] In 1964 he was elected as a Liberal for Finchley West in the inaugural Barnet London Borough Council election. In 1966 he was Liberal candidate for Finchley in the United Kingdom general election. He came third, polling 25% of the vote. In 1968 he was Liberal candidate in the Acton by-election. At the time, no election in the UK included the name of a candidate's party on the ballot paper. To get round this situation, he changed his name to 'Frank Liberal Davis'. He was in a six-way contest. He came third polling 11% of the vote. As a consequence of his name changing action, UK law was changed to allow party names on the ballot paper. ^[5] In May 1968 he lost his seat on Barnet Council. He contested the re-drawn ward of Finchley and polled 36% of the vote. In 1982 he was an unsuccessful Liberal candidate for Friern Barnet at the Barnet Council elections, polling 25% of the vote. ^[6]

Electoral record

1963 Finchley Borough Council; Manor

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frank Davis	1,734	52.18
	Conservative	S Stubbs	1,117	33.61
	Labour	P Watkins	472	14.20
Majority			617	18.57
Turnout			3,323
	Liberal hold		Swing

1964 Barnet London Borough Council; Finchley West (3 seats) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. Murray Medway	3,184	46.7
	Liberal	Leonard Sattin	3,092
	Liberal	Frank Davis	3,087
	Conservative	F. W. Riches	2,840	41.6
	Conservative	V. S. Francis	2,771
	Conservative	C. E. White	2,693
	Labour	R. Y. Green	800	11.7
	Labour	S. H. Harris	795
	Labour	W. Meacock	786
Turnout			6,820	54.9
	Liberal win (new seat)

Finchley in Middlesex

General election 1966: Finchley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher	23,968	46.5	−0.1
	Labour	Yvonne Sieve	14,504	28.1	+4.6
	Liberal	Frank Davis	13,070	25.4	−4.5
Majority			9,464	18.4	+1.7
Turnout			51,542	75.3	−2.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.4

Acton by-election, 1968 ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Baker	12,242	48.67	+6.36
	Labour	Walter Johnson	8,522	33.88	-23.81
	Liberal	Frank Davis	2,868	11.40	n/a
	National Front	Andrew Fountaine	1,400	5.57	n/a
	Independent	Harold Fox	75	0.30	n/a
	Independent	William Gold	44	0.17	n/a
Majority			3,720	14.79	n/a
Turnout			25,151	59.7
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

1982 Barnet London Borough Council; Friern Barnet (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David C. Burton	2,674
	Conservative	Frank D. Gibson	2,627
	Conservative	John C. Tiplady	2,590
	Alliance	Christopher Perkin	1,213
	Alliance	Bruce A. Standing	1,209
	Alliance	Frank Davis	1,183
	Labour	Peter R. Butcher	921
	Labour	Stephanie H.M. Dardis	862
	Labour	Harry Kerens	806
Turnout				%
	Conservative hold		Swing

1990 Barnet London Borough Council; Garden Suburb (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frank Davis*	2,948	60.1
	Conservative	Roy Shutz*	2,923	59.6
	Conservative	Veronica Soskin*	2,891	58.9
	Liberal Democrats	Majorie Harris	966	19.7
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Pickering	942	19.2
	Liberal Democrats	Susette Palmer	927	18.9
	Labour	Penelope Grant	569	11.6
	Labour	Jula Westman	567	11.6
	Labour	Ephraim Lesser	531	10.8
	Green	Janet Strangeways	479	9.8
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

1994 Barnet London Borough Council; Garden Suburb (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frank Davis*	1,748	42.6	-17.5
	Conservative	Roy Shutz*	1,724	42.0	-17.6
	Conservative	Mohammed Khamisa*	1,665	40.5	-18.4
	Liberal Democrats	Majorie Harris	1,645	40.1	+20.4
	Liberal Democrats	Millicent Watkins	1,552	37.8	+18.6
	Liberal Democrats	David Ive	1,520	37.0	+18.1
	Labour	Naomi Angell	668	16.3	+4.7
	Labour	Jula Westman	648	15.8	+4.2
	Labour	Carol Kohll	634	15.4	+4.6
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1959
2. The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1959
3. Journal of Liberal History, Spring 2001
4. Chance Encounters; Tales from a Varied Life by Tim Razzall
5. Journal of Liberal History, Spring 2001
6. Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, The Elections Centre, Plymouth University
7. Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, The Elections Centre, Plymouth University
8. "1968 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2015-08-21.