Rural Party (UK)

Last updated

Rural Party
Honorary Secretary Sir Herbert Matthews
Honorary TreasurerGeorge Cooper
Founded1907 (as Independent Agriculture Parliamentary Party)
Dissolved1924
Ideology Agrarianism

The Rural Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1907 as the Independent Agriculture Parliamentary Party, and revived in 1923 as the Rural Party.

Contents

The purpose of the party was set out by Sir Herbert Matthews in 1924 "to be the representation in Parliament of the rural population as country people having essentially country interests of all kinds, and not as adherents to any of the existing parties." [1]

History

The idea of a political party dedicated to rural affairs came about in 1907, when on 25 May the Staffordshire Chamber of Agriculture passed a resolution urging the Central Chamber of Agriculture to take the idea of an Independent Agricultural Parliamentary Party under serious consideration. The resolution was sent to all the agricultural chambers and was adopted by the Canterbury, Lincolnshire, Monmouthshire, Totnes and Worcestershire Chambers as well as the Chester, Holderness, Liverpool and Wadhurst Farmers' Clubs.

On 26 June 1907, the resolution formed the centre of discussion for a meeting of Secretaries of the various agricultural chambers. They concluded that they were "strongly of opinion that an Independent Agricultural Party is absolutely necessary and could be formed." On 5 November 1907 the Organisational Committee of the Central Chamber of Agriculture produced a report that concluded that they were "strongly of opinion that the value of such a party as that proposed depends far more on its absolute independence and singleness of aim than on its numerical strength, and recommend that the efforts to establish it shall at first be concentrated on those constituencies whence it would be possible to secure a thoroughly compact and reliable body." [2] Jesse Collings supported the report, as in his opinion Parliament was dominated by commercialism and without organisation the representation of agriculture was useless. [3]

An Agricultural Representation Committee of the Central Chamber of Agriculture produced a similar report on the matter 5 May 1908, coming to the same conclusion that parliamentary representation was necessary. However, the opposition of a small number of members of the Central Chamber of Agriculture meant that a section of paragraph 9 of the Agricultural Representation Committee's report was deleted. This paragraph detailed how a Special Standing Committee, separate to the Chamber, would work to create an Agricultural Party. Following the deletion of this section, the resolution was passed 49 votes to 6. However, the succeeding years the resolution was all but forgotten as members of the Central Chamber of Agriculture turned their attention to national political happenings. [2]

In October 1923, the idea of an agricultural or rural political party was revived by the prominent agriculturalist Christopher Hatton Turnor [4] at a meeting of the Grantham Farmers' Union. [5] This revival was continued by Sir Herbert Matthews, Secretary of the Central Chamber of Agriculture. It was agreed that the Honorary Secretary of the Party would be Sir Herbert Matthews and the Honorary Treasurer would be Mr George Cooper, a Warwickshire farmer and agricultural writer. [6] In January 1924, Sir Herbert Matthews set out the parliamentary programme for the party. [7]

  1. The maximum economic production from the maximum employment on the land.
  2. A living wage and better conditions of life for the rural worker.
  3. The organisation of agriculture and its allied industries.
  4. A flourishing agriculture, which means prosperity to every rural dweller. [7] [8]

It was announced that the trustees of the party would be Christopher Hatton Turnor and Colonel C. H. Hoare, a member of a well known banking family. The offices of the party were at Westminster Palace Gardens. [9]

Opposition

In January 1924, at a meeting of the Devon Farmers' Union at Exeter, Rowland Richard Robbins, Vice-President of the National Farmers Union, conducted an attack on the idea of a rural or agrarian party. He also rejected the suggestion that landowners, labourers and farmers should unite under a single banner, preferring cooperation when necessary. He asked his audience,

Does the nation want maximum production and maximum employment, or good farming? The two things are not the same; they are essentially different. Good farming is possible without either subsidies or protection. Good farming means farming on safety first principles. It means cutting one's coat according to one's cloth. It means, under existing world conditions, diminished aggregate production and diminished employment. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

Agrarianism is a political and social philosophy that has promoted subsistence agriculture, smallholdings, egalitarianism, with agrarian political parties normally supporting the rights and sustainability of small farmers and poor peasants against the wealthy in society. In highly developed and industrial nations or regions it can denote use of financial and social incentives for self-sustainability, more community involvement in food production and smart growth that avoids urban sprawl and, many of its advocates contend, risks of human overpopulation; when overpopulation occurs the available resources become too limited for the entire population to survive comfortably or at all in the long term.

Bicameralism is the practice of having a legislature divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single group. As of 2015, about 40% of world's national legislatures are bicameral, and about 60% are unicameral.

Parliament of Australia National legislature of Australia

The Parliament of Australia is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Crown, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The combination of two elected chambers, in which the members of the Senate represent the states and territories while the members of the House represent electoral divisions according to population, is modelled on the United States Congress. Through both chambers, however, there is a fused executive, drawn from the Westminster system.

Farmer–Labor Party American political party

The first modern Farmer–Labor Party in the United States emerged in Minnesota in 1918. Economic dislocation caused by American entry into World War I put agricultural prices and workers' wages into imbalance with rapidly escalating retail prices during the war years, and farmers and workers sought to make common cause in the political sphere to redress their grievances.

Warren Truss Australian politician, 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia

Warren Errol Truss, is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Government and the Turnbull Government. Truss served as the federal leader of the National Party of Australia between 2007 and 11 February 2016 when he announced his decision to retire and not contest the 2016 federal election. He was the member of the House of Representatives for Wide Bay from the 1990 election until his retirement in May 2016. Following the merger of the Queensland branches of the Nationals and Liberals, Truss was re-elected in 2010 for the Liberal National Party.

Senate of Romania

The Senate is the upper house in the bicameral Parliament of Romania. It has 136 seats, to which members are elected by direct popular vote using party-list proportional representation in 43 electoral districts, to serve four-year terms.

Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

Gainsborough is a constituency in Lincolnshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1983 by Sir Edward Leigh, a Conservative.

Horace Plunkett Irish agricultural reformer and promoter of cooperatives, and politician

Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett, was an Anglo-Irish agricultural reformer, pioneer of agricultural cooperatives, Unionist MP, supporter of Home Rule, Irish Senator and author.

Parliament of Romania

The Parliament of Romania is the national bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. It meets at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, the capital of the country.

The Punjab Legislative Council was the legislature of the province of Punjab in British India. Established by British authorities under Government of India Act 1919, the council had nominal powers and a membership of mainly pro-British politicians and government officials. Voting was largely boycotted until the Government of India Act 1935 increased representation and the powers of the assembly.

1942 Maldon by-election

The Maldon by-election, 1942 was a parliamentary by-election held on 25 June 1942 for the British House of Commons constituency of Maldon in Essex. It was one a series of by-elections in World War II won by radical independent candidates.

James Henderson-Stewart British politician

Sir James Henderson-Stewart, 1st Baronet, born James Henderson Stewart, was a British banker, Army officer and politician. He was a National Liberal Member of Parliament for East Fife from 1933 until his death, and was the sessional chairman of the Parliamentary Party in 1945. He played an important role in negotiating the unity of the National Liberals with the Conservatives, but was unable to persuade the Liberal Party to join as well.

The Henley by-election, 1932 was a parliamentary by-election held on 25 February 1932 for the House of Commons constituency of Henley.

1923 Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election

The Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election of 31 May 1923 was a by-election to the British House of Commons which saw Mabel Philipson become the third woman to take her seat in Parliament. The election was caused when her husband, Hilton Philipson, was deprived of his seat due to corruption by his election agent. The result was formally a Conservative Party gain as husband and wife fought as members of different parties. Mrs Philipson, a former actress, performed much better at the polls than her party had expected.

The Lancaster by-election, 1928 was a parliamentary by-election held in England for the House of Commons constituency of Lancaster on 9 February 1928.

The Holderness by-election, 1939 was a parliamentary by-election held on 15 February 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, 1939, was a parliamentary by-election held on 1 August 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire, in South Wales.

The Eddisbury by-election, 1943 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Eddisbury on 7 April 1943.

Sir Alfred Herbert Henry Matthews was an English agriculturalist and politician.

The 1924 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were awards announced on 8 February 1924 to mark the exit of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, who resigned his first term as Prime Minister in late January.

References

  1. ↑ "New Political Body to Represent Rural Interests" . Western Daily Press. 8 January 1924. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 Matthews, A.H.H. (1915). Fifty Years of Agricultural Politics: Being the History of the Central Chamber of Agriculture (First ed.). London: P.S. King & Son Ltd. pp.  340–348. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "An Agricultural Party in the Commons" . Cheltenham Chronicle. 9 November 1907. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "A Rural Party" . Aberdeen Journal. 12 October 1923. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Rural Party Suggested" . Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 15 October 1923. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "A New Rural Party" . Yorkshire Evening Post. 8 January 1924. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  7. 1 2 "The Rural Party: Important New Factor in Politics" . Western Morning News. 9 January 1924. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "New Rural Party: Sir H. Matthews Summarises its Programme" . Tamworth Herald. 19 January 1924. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "New Political Body to Watch Interests of Farmers and Labourers" . Biggleswade Chronicle. 18 January 1924. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "No Rural Party in Politics: Mr Robbins's Advice to Devon Farmers" . Western Morning News. 12 January 1924. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.