Herbert Looker

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Herbert William Looker (2 December 1871 - 13 December 1951) was the Conservative MP for the South East Essex constituency from 1924 to 1929.

Looker was born 2 December 1871 in St Ives, Huntingdonshire. He was educated privately before joining a London firm of solicitors; he was managing clerk from 1894 to 1895. In 1895 he moved to Hong Kong to join a firm of solicitors there, becoming a partner in Deacon, Looker and Deacon. [1] Following his retirement in 1919 he returned to England to live in Great Baddow, near Chelmsford [2] and began a political career.

On 6 October 1921 he was selected to fight the Hull Central constituency by the Central Hull Conservative Council. [3] The following year he was defeated by the incumbent Labour MP Joseph Kenworthy by 15,374 votes to 12,347 in the 1922 General Election. [4]

Two years later, on 12 March 1924 Looker was unanimously selected to be the Conservative Candidate for South East Essex. [2] The general election was held later that year and this time Looker defeated the incumbent Labour MP Philip Hoffman by 19,731 votes to 13,820. [5] While an MP he was a regular contributor to parliamentary debates. [6]

On 8 May 1929 Looker was again unanimously selected to be the Conservative candidate to fight the next election. This time though it was to be a three-horse race with the addition of a Liberal candidate which the Conservatives knew made the chance of regaining the seat more difficult. [7] Their fears were realised when the Labour candidate, Jack Oldfield, won the constituency with a majority of just 626, receiving 18,756 votes. Looker received 18,130 votes, and the Liberal candidate, George Thomas Veness, 13,030 votes. [8]

Some time after his election defeat he moved to Forest Row, Sussex. [1] Here, in April 1933, he was elected to the Withyham Division of East Sussex County Council. [9] He remained there until his death on 13 December 1951. [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 Who's Who 1944. New York: The Macmillan Company. 1944. p. 1675.
  2. 1 2 "Mr H W Looker - Prospective Unionist Candidate" . Chelmsford Chronicle (8322). 14 March 1924. p. 5. Retrieved 1 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ↑ "Opponent for Commander Kenworthy at Hull - Mr H W Looker Adopted" . The Yorkshire Post (23175). 7 October 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 1 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ↑ "Declaring the Polls" . Hull Daily Mail (11585). 16 November 1922. p. 5. Retrieved 1 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "The General Election" . Chelmsford Chronicle (8355). 31 October 1924. p. 5. Retrieved 1 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "Mr Herbert Looker (Hansard)". Historic Hansard. Retrieved 1 March 2019– via UK Parliament.
  7. ↑ "South-East Essex - Conservative Candidate Adopted" . Chelmsford Chronicle (8591). 10 May 1929. p. 11. Retrieved 1 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "The General Election - Essex Results" . Chelmsford Chronicle (8595). 7 June 1929. p. 7. Retrieved 1 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Sussex County Council Election - Yesterday's Voting at Withyam" . Kent & Sussex Courier (5076). 7 April 1933. p. 22. Retrieved 1 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "Legal Notices - Herbert William Looker deceased" . Crawley and District Observer (3668). 1 February 1952. p. 11. Retrieved 1 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Philip Hoffman 		Member of Parliament for South East Essex
1924–1929 		Succeeded by
Jack Oldfield
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