William Clegg

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Sir William Clegg (21 April 1852 - 1932) was an English footballer and politician. Born in Sheffield, he was the younger brother of Charles Clegg with whom he played at Sheffield Wednesday. The two were the first brothers to both get capped for England, although they never played in the same match.

After retiring from football through injury he continued within the game as an administrator and would become president of Sheffield Wednesday and vice president of Sheffield and Hallamshire Football Association.

He also went on to have a successful political career and was Lord Mayor of Sheffield in 1898. He became known as 'the uncrowned king of Sheffield'. William was knighted in 1906.

Clegg was the leader of the Liberal group on Sheffield City Council from 1895. In his early years, he campaigned for the municipalization of the tramways in the city, and then for the construction of council housing in the city. He was able to ensure that an estate was built at Wincobank, and a project to build 400 houses was begun in 1909. He also acted as the major financier of the local Liberal group.^[1]

Clegg was considered to be on the right of the Liberal Party and was associated with the Liberal League. He was opposed to socialism and was hostile to the Labour Party. From 1909, he began co-operating closely with the Conservative Party group on the council, and in 1920 the two parties formed the Citizens' Association, Clegg being its first leader. He pursued low-tax policies at the expenses of cutting services and running up debts. He was an opponent of David Lloyd George's policies. The Association lost control of the council to Labour in 1926, who removed him from the aldermanic bench.^[1]