Lucy Masterman

Lucy Masterman

Plaque at St Giles' Church, Camberwell commemorating Lucy Masterman

Lucy Blanche Masterman (née Lyttelton; 19 July 1884 – 22 April 1977) was a British Liberal Party politician, poet and diarist from the Lyttelton family. She married the Cabinet Minister, Charles Masterman.

Early life

Born Lucy Blanche Lyttelton, the eldest daughter of Rt. Hon. Gen. Sir Neville Lyttelton and his wife, Katherine Sarah Stuart-Wortley, she married Charles Masterman in 1908. They had one son (the University of Wales Swansea historian Neville Masterman) and two daughters (including Margaret Masterman), before he died on 17 November 1927.

Literary career

During the period when her husband was in Government, she kept a diary. She published in 1912 Lyrical Poems. She worked as Literary editor for Outlook. Assisting Elizabeth Lee, she published in 1918 Wives of the Prime Ministers 1844-1906. She published in 1939 - C. F. G. Masterman: a biography.

She was the author of A Book of Wild Things, 1910; Poems, John Lane, 1913; Mary Gladstone (Mrs Drew): her diaries and letters, as editor, Methuen, 1930London from the Bus-top, Dennis Dobson, 1951.

Political career

She was the Liberal Party candidate for the Conservative seat of Salisbury at the 1929 General Election. The Liberal party had last won the seat in 1923 and had come second in 1924. She finished a strong second, well ahead of Labour;

1929 United Kingdom general election: Salisbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hugh Morrison	15,672	47.3	−9.0
	Liberal	Lucy Blanche Masterman	13,022	39.3	+3.7
	Labour	F. R. Hancock	4,435	13.4	+5.3
Majority			2,650	8.0	−12.7
Turnout			33,129	81.9	+0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

She remained active for the Liberals in Salisbury and was again candidate at the Salisbury by-election in March 1931, when she again finished second;

1931 Salisbury by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Archibald St George Fitzwarenne-Despencer Robertson	15,800	53.9	+6.3
	Liberal	Lucy Blanche Masterman	9,588	32.7	−6.6
	Labour	F. R. Hancock	3,939	13.4	+0
Majority			6,212	21.2	+13.2
Turnout			29,327	71.1	−10.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.6

After the by-election she continued as prospective Liberal candidate for Salisbury until she resigned in September 1931. The Liberals and Conservatives had joined the National Government and Salisbury Liberals decided not to contest the seat. She did not contest an election again, however she remained politically active. In June 1936 she was elected to serve on the Liberal Party Council.

External links

• Works by Lucy Masterman at Project Gutenberg
• Who's Who
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1929