R.C. Lambert, circa 1910.

Richard Cornthwaite Lambert (5 May 1868 – 5 November 1939)[1] was a British barrister and Liberal Party politician

Early life

The son of the Reverend Richard U Lambert, vicar of Christ Church, Bradford on Avon, Somerset and his wife Agnes née Stanton, he was educated at Shrewsbury School and Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with honours in history.[2]

He travelled widely in Europe and the Middle East before being called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1892.[2] He practised law on the Midland Circuit.[2][3] In 1893 he married Lilian Burman of Four Oaks, Warwickshire, with whom he had 3 children.[2] One of his sons was Richard S. Lambert, who was to become editor of The Listener.[3]

Political career

He joined the Liberal Party. He sat on the Executive Committee of the London Liberal Federation. He stood as a Liberal candidate at Sheffield Ecclesall in 1906, at Sheffield Attercliffe at a by-election in 1909, and Portsmouth in January 1910.[4]

In 1907 he attempted to win a London County Council seat at West Islington for the Liberal-backed Progressive Party but was unsuccessful. However, in March 1910 he was elected to the London County Council at the second attempt;

Islington West in the metropolitan area, 1885–1918

He was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cricklade at the general election in December 1910,[5]

In 1913 he stood down from the London County Council. He was a pacifist. During the Great War he opposed the introduction of conscription into the armed services. He joined the Union of Democratic Control, a group of Liberal and Labour MPs who opposed military influence in government. In 1917 he wrote and had published 'The Parliamentary History of Conscription in Great Britain'. In 1918 he joined the Labour Party.[6] The Cricklade constituency was abolished at the 1918 general election, and Lambert did not stand for Parliament again.[7]

In 1922 he became librarian at the Athenaeum Club, London, holding the post until 1935.[3][2]

Election results

General election 1906: Sheffield Ecclesall
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Samuel Roberts 5,856 52.1 -8.9
Liberal Richard Lambert 5,392 47.9 +8.9
Majority 464 4.2 -17.8
Turnout 87.1 +14.1
Conservative hold Swing
1909 Sheffield Attercliffe by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Pointer 3,531 27.5 N/A
Conservative Sydney Charles King-Farlow 3,380 26.2 -20.6
Liberal Richard Lambert 3,175 24.6 -28.6
Ind. Conservative Arnold Muir Wilson 2,803 21.7 N/A
Majority 151 1.3 -5.1
Turnout 77.3 -1.9
Labour gain from Liberal Swing N/A
General election January 1910: Portsmouth (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Green tickYCharles Beresford 16,777 28.80 N/A
Liberal Unionist Green tickYBertram Falle 15,592 26.76 N/A
Liberal Thomas Bramsdon 12,397 21.28 -1.31
Liberal Richard Lambert 9,965 17.10 N/A
Labour William Sanders 3,529 6.06 -11.52
Turnout 58,260 (30,100 voted) 89.41 +6.59
London County Council election, 1910: Islington West[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Green tickY Richard Lambert 3,193
Progressive Green tickY Henry Lorenzo Jephson 3,172
Municipal Reform H J Clarke 2,542
Municipal Reform F Russell Davies 2,524
Majority
Progressive gain from Municipal Reform Swing
Progressive gain from Municipal Reform Swing
General election December 1910: Cricklade[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Richard Lambert 6,937 50.5 +2.7
Liberal Unionist Thomas Calley 6,809 49.5 -2.7
Majority 128 1.0 5.4
Turnout 90.4
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist Swing +2.7

References

  1. ↑ "House of Commons constituencies beginning with "C" (part 6)". Leigh Rayment's House of Commons page. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "LAMBERT, Richard Cornthwaite". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. December 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "Obituary: Mr R. C. Lambert". The Times. 6 November 1939. p. 9.
  4. ↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [First published 1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 171, 183, 186. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  5. ↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [First published 1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 415. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  6. ↑ The Downfall of the Liberal Party, 1914–1935 by Trevor Wilson
  7. ↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [First published 1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  8. ↑ London Municipal Notes, 1913
  9. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 (Craig)
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