Arthur Richardson (5 February 1860 – 27 June 1936)[1][2] was a British merchant and Liberal-Labour[3] politician from Nottingham. He sat in the House of Commons between 1906 and 1918.
He was born in in East Bridgeford, Nottinghamshire,[4] the son of William Richardson.[5] He was educated at East Bridgeford National School, and at Magnus Grammar School in Newark-on-Trent, and became a tea merchant in the firm of Arthur Richardson and Sons.[5]
Richardson was elected at the 1906 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham South,[6][7] defeating the sitting Unionist MP Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck.[3] Although described as Liberal-Labour, he was not a Trade Union sponsored MP, so was not required to join the Labour Party in 1910. Richardson held the seat until the January 1910 election, when he was defeated by Cavendish-Bentinck,[3] and he was unsuccessful when he stood again in December 1910.[3]
He returned to Parliament seven years later, when he was elected unopposed as MP for Rotherham at a by-election in February 1917 after the Liberal MP Jack Pease was elevated to the peerage.[8] He held that seat until the 1918 general election,[2] when he stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal Party candidate in Nottingham West.[9] He then contested the next three general elections in the Melton division of Leicestershire. After a clear defeat by the sitting Conservative Party MP Sir Charles Yate in 1922, he lost to Yate by only 44 votes in 1923, but by over 5,000 votes in 1924.[10]
He and died on 27 June 1936[1] in Edwalton, Nottingham.[4]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck |
Member of Parliament for Nottingham South 1906–January 1910 |
Succeeded by Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck |
| Preceded by Jack Pease |
Member of Parliament for Rotherham 1917–1918 |
Succeeded by Frederic Arthur Kelley |