Patrick Berkeley Moynihan, 2nd Baron Moynihan

Patrick Berkeley Moynihan (29 July 1906–30 April 1965) was a British politician and noble.

Moynihan studied law and became a barrister at Lincoln's Inn. He then became a stockbroker, moving to New York, where he was active during the Wall Street Crash, then joined the New York Stock Exchange in 1932.^[1] In 1931, he married Irene Candy, although the two divorced in 1952.^[1] He succeeded his father as Baron Moynihan in 1936.^[2] He also followed his father in taking the Liberal Party whip in the House of Lords.^[3] By 1947, he was the treasurer of the party, and commented that he believed that the Labour Party's social reforms were close to the spirit of the Liberals, but that they ignored the individual.^[4] In 1949, he became the party chairman.^[5] His time as chairman was dominated by the 1950 UK general election, and a dispute with the Conservative Party, who ran National Liberal Party candidates under the label "Liberal and Conservative".^[6]

In February 1950, an object hit Moynihan's car while he was driving in Epping Forest. He claimed that it might have been a bullet, although he was unable to prove this.^[7] In 1950 and 1951, Moynihan served as President of the National Union of Liberal Clubs,^[8] and he again became the party treasurer.^[9] In 1952, he married June Hopkins, a dance teacher.^[10]

Long a friend of Edward Martell, in 1956, Moynihan was a founder member of his People's League for the Defence of Freedom, which claimed to combat the "tyranny of trade unions".^[11] The new organisation was opposed by the Executive of the Liberal Party, which were concerned that it was contemplating standing rival political candidates, and also opposed its calls for strikebreaking.^[12] The People's League became the National Fellowship, which opposed immigration and entry to the Common Market. Because of his support for the new organisation, in 1962, Moynihan was removed as a vice-president of the Yorkshire Area Liberal Federation.^[13] In 1963, Moynihan finally resigned from the Liberal Party, citing his membership of Martell's latest organisation, the Freedom Group, which actively supported Conservative candidates.^[14] However, in 1964, he began disassociating himself from Martell, resigning his posts in Martell's organisations by early 1965.^[1]

In April 1965, Moynihan was charged with "persistently importuning for an immoral purpose". He was taken ill and died a few days before he was due to appear at Bow Street Magistrates' Court.^[1][15]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Obituary: Lord Moynihan", The Guardian, 1 May 1965
2. ^ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
3. ^ "Hospital dispute", Manchester Guardian, 3 December 1946
4. ^ "Lord Moynihan and Labour's method", Manchester Guardian, 17 April 1948
5. ^ "Conscription a cause of inefficiency in forces", Manchester Guardian, 5 May 1949
6. ^ "Use of word "liberal"", Manchester Guardian, 21 January 1950
7. ^ "'Pot shot' at Lord Moynihan?", The Observer, 12 February 1950
8. ^ "National Union of Liberal Clubs", Manchester Guardian, 7 May 1951
9. ^ "Undoing some damage", Manchester Guardian, 24 September 1951
10. ^ Page 7, Article 2, Manchester Guardian, 29 November 1952
11. ^ "Growing tyranny of trade unions", Manchester Guardian, 28 May 1956
12. ^ "Liberal Party "true league for the defence of freedom"", Manchester Guardian, 22 September 1956
13. ^ "Lord Moynihan "dismissed"", The Guardian, 12 March 1962
14. ^ Francis Boyd, "Former Liberal chairman resigns from party", The Guardian, 18 November 1963
15. ^ "Lord Moynihan ill", The Guardian, 30 April 1965