James Milner, 1st Baron Milner of Leeds

For other people named James Milner, see James Milner (disambiguation).
Major The Right Honourable
The Lord Milner of Leeds
MC PC
Chairman of Ways and Means
In office
1943–1951
Preceded by Douglas Clifton Brown
Succeeded by Sir Charles MacAndrew

Major James Milner, 1st Baron Milner of Leeds, MC, PC (12 August 1889 16 July 1967) was a British Labour Party politician.

Milner was educated at the University of Leeds and became a solicitor. He was a major in World War I and was wounded, awarded the Military Cross and bar for his service. He was a Leeds City Councillor and Deputy Lord Mayor of Leeds in 1928, and was also Chairman of Leeds Labour Party and President of Leeds Law Society. He later became deputy-lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

He was elected as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds South East at a by-election in August 1929,[1] and served until 1951. He became Chairman of Ways and Means and Deputy Speaker and led the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1945.

In 1951, the Speaker of the House of Commons, Douglas Clifton Brown, had stepped down. As Chairman of Ways and Means, Milner wanted to be Labour's first-ever Speaker. However, the Conservatives, now the majority party, nominated William Morrison. The vote went along party lines the first time the post had been contested in the 20th century and Milner lost. As some compensation, he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Milner of Leeds, of Roundhay in the City of Leeds on 20 December 1951.[2] Denis Healey replaced him in the subsequent by-election.

Milner's son, Michael, born in 1923, succeeded him as Baron Milner of Leeds and topped the poll of hereditary Labour peers to stay in the House of Lords in 1999.

References

  1. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 164. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  2. The London Gazette: no. 39414. p. 6650. 21 December 1951.

Sources

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir Henry Slesser
Member of Parliament for Leeds South East
19291951
Succeeded by
Denis Healey
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Milner of Leeds
1951–1967
Succeeded by
Arthur James Michael Milner
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