Harold Roberts (23 August 1884 – 28 Sept 1950)[1] was a British solicitor and Unionist (Conservative) politician. After a long career in local government in Birmingham, he represented the city in the House of Commons for the last five years of his life.
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Roberts was the son William Henry Roberts, and was educated privately before qualifying as a solicitor in 1906. He gained his LL.B degree in 1907,[2] and then practised law in London and in Leicester, before moving to Birmingham in 1911.[3]
He was first elected to Birmingham City Council in 1922, and remained a councillor for over two decades, becoming Lord Mayor of Birmingham in 1936, when he was made an alderman.[3] He chaired the council's Public Health Committee from 1936 to 1930, and the Salaries, Wages and Labour Committee from 1941 to 1943.[3] During his time as mayor he launched the final appeal for the city's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which raised the £250,000 needed to allow construction to be completed.[4]
He was also a life governor of the University of Birmingham.[3]
At the 1945 general election, Roberts was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Handsworth division of Birmingham.[5] He stood as a Unionist, rather than as a Conservative; the Liberal Unionist tradition lingered in Birmingham long after the 1912 merger of the two parties, with memories of Joseph Chamberlain still strong.[6]
Handsworth was a safe seat for the Unionists, who had held it since 1886. The sitting Unionist MP, Oliver Locker-Lampson, had not been re-selected by his local party, and planned to stand as an Independent Conservative,[6] but was offered a post overseas[7] and did not contest the seat.[8] Even without Locker-Lampson, the seat was contested by five candidates. In addition to the Unionist, Liberal, and Labour parties, there was a Communist Party candidate, and another former Lord Mayor, former Unionist Noel Tiptaft, stood as a "National Independent".[6] Tiptaft proclaimed himself as supporter of the Prime Minister Winston Churchill, prompting Churchill to send a telegram to Alderman Roberts denying that Tiptaft was a supporter of his.[7] Labour took ten of Birmingham's 13 seats, having won none in 1935,[9] but Handsworth was one of the three Birmingham seats retained by the Conservatives.[8] However Roberts's majority was only 3.6% of the votes, compared with the 46% won by Locker-Lampson in a two-way contest in 1935.[8]
Roberts was re-elected in 1950,[10] with an increased majority of 5,472 (i.e. 11.4% of the votes).[11]
He died at his home in Rednal, Worcestershire on 28 September 1950, aged 66.[4] His death triggered a by-election in his Handsworth constituency,[12] which was held in November that year.[13] The 27-year-old baronet Sir Edward Boyle held the seat for the Conservatives, with an increased majority.[13]
In January 1913, Roberts married Ann Pettifor, the daughter of George Pettifor from Anstey in Leicestershire.[2] She survived him, with one son.[3]
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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Preceded by Oliver Locker-Lampson |
Member of Parliament for Birmingham Handsworth 1945 – 1950 |
Succeeded by Sir Edward Boyle |