Talk:Paddington South (UK Parliament constituency)

Latest comment: 17 years ago by Fys in topic Taylor in 1931


Taylor in 1931

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Was he fighting as an avowed Conservative candidate or as a National one? A few other independents and one-man shows ran as National Government supporters in this election. Timrollpickering 16:56, 30 May 2007 (UTC)Reply

Difficult to say. He was officially endorsed by the South Paddington Conservative Association and by the National Union, but there may be a difference between who endorses the candidate and how the candidate describes their own politics. The Times correspondent on The Friday 16 October 1931 (p. 8) reported "In South Paddington Vice-Admiral Taylor is presenting the case for Empire Free Trade, and the Conservatives are not officially intervening" which suggests something different. He is however presented as a Conservative in all contemporary lists and guides that I have found. In The Times House of Commons it is said in a parenthetical sentence after the result of the 1930 byelection "Vice-Admiral Taylor, returned in 1930 as Ind., is now an official Unionist". Next time I am in the Westminster Archives Centre I will check the contemporary local newspapers (no election addresses survive there) to see how he described himself. Fys. “Ta fys aym”. 23:35, 30 May 2007 (UTC)Reply
Oh, and "Who's Who of British MPs" says that Taylor accepted the Conservative (not 'National') whip in September 1931, ie before the dissolution. Fys. “Ta fys aym”. 23:37, 30 May 2007 (UTC)Reply