James Patrick Gardner

Gardner in 1924

James Patrick Gardner (5 March 1883 – 25 July 1937)[1] was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.[2]

Born in Belfast, he was educated by the Christian Brothers there before taking up the trade of architectural sculptor.[2] He moved to Hammersmith in West London, where he became a member of the borough council in 1919.[2] He was also an official in the National Furnishing Trades Association.[3]

In 1922 he was chosen by the Labour Party to contest the Conservative-held seat of Hammersmith North.[4] He failed to be elected on that occasion, but whereas the previous Labour candidate in the seat had finished a poor fourth, Gardner clinched second place, greatly increasing the Labour vote share.[5]

When another election was held in the following year he was elected MP for North Hammersmith by the narrow margin of 845 votes over the new Conservative candidate Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett.[5][3]

A further general election was held in October 1924. Unlike 1922 and 1923 when the Liberals had fielded a candidate in North Hammersmith, the 1924 contest was a straight fight between Gardner and his previous Conservative opponent, Ashmead-Bartlett. Although Gardner actually increased both his vote share and the number of votes he received, Ashmead-Bartlett emerged victorious with a majority of just under 2,000 votes.[5][6]

In 1926, Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett, the MP for Hammersmith North, resigned. In the resulting by-election, held against the background of the General Strike, Gardner regained the seat with the substantial majority of 3,611 votes over the Conservative's Samuel Gluckstein.[5][7]

He retained the seat at the 1929 general election.[8] Following the election the Labour Party formed a minority government. This was subsequently replaced by a National Government in August 1931 leading to a split in the Labour Party. At the election held in October 1931 Gardner, like most Labour MPs opposing the government, was defeated.[9]

Gardner did not return to parliamentary politics after his 1931 defeat, but was a member of the Hammersmith council until his death.[2]

  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
  2. ^ a b c d "Gardner, James Patrick". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b "The General Election. First Returns, Polling In The Boroughs". The Times. 7 December 1923. p. 6.
  4. ^ "Contests In West London. Sir William Bull For Unity, Hammersmith And Kensington". The Times. 6 November 1922. p. 14.
  5. ^ a b c d Craig, F W S (1969). British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 23. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
  6. ^ "The General Election. First Returns, Polling In The Boroughs". The Times. 30 October 1924. p. 6.
  7. ^ "North Hammersmith Result". The Times. 29 May 1926.
  8. ^ "The General Election. First Returns, Polling In The Boroughs". The Times. 31 May 1929. p. 6.
  9. ^ "The General Election. First Returns, Polling In The Boroughs". The Times. 28 October 1931. p. 6.