William Borthwick (Dorset politician)

William Borthwick
Hon. William Borthwick in 1929
Born	14 June 1879 (1879-06-14)
Died	16 December 1956 (1956-12-17) (aged 77)
Occupation	British politician

Hon. William Borthwick (14 June 1879 – 16 December 1956) was a British Liberal Party politician, Army Captain and Barrister.

Background

He was the son of Sir Thomas Borthwick, 1st Baronet and Letitia Mary Banks. He was a younger brother of Lord Whitburgh. In 1909 he married Ruth Margery Rigby of Putney, the only daughter of Jason Rigby. They had four children, including a son William Jason Maxwell Borthwick. She died in 1971. In 1913 he was granted the rank of a baron's son.

Career

He gained the rank of Temporary Captain in the service of the King's Royal Rifle Corps. He fought in the First World War between 1914 and 1918, where he was wounded twice and became a Prisoner of war. In 1919 he was called to the Bar. At parliamentary elections he contested, as a Liberal party candidate North Dorset four times;

General Election 1929: North Dorset Electorate 31,684

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Cecil Hanbury	12,203	47.3	−6.0
	Liberal	Hon. William Borthwick	11,281	43.8	−2.9
	Labour	Colin Grant Clark	2,298	8.9	n/a
Majority			922	3.5
Turnout			25,782	81.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.5

General Election 1931: North Dorset Electorate 31,898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Cecil Hanbury	15,499	59.2	+11.9
	Liberal	Hon. William Borthwick	10,682	40.8	−3.0
Majority			4,817	18.4	+14.9
Turnout				82.1	+0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.5

General Election 1935: North Dorset Electorate 32,714

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Cecil Hanbury	13,055	50.1	−9.1
	Liberal	Hon. William Borthwick	9,871	37.9	−2.9
	Agriculture	George Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers	1,771	6.8	n/a
	Labour	Miss M M Whitehead	1,360	5.2	n/a
Majority			3,184	12.2	−6.2
Turnout				79.7	−2.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.1

1937 North Dorset by-election Electorate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angus Valdemar Hambro	12,247	51.1	+1.0
	Liberal	Hon. William Borthwick	11,704	48.9	+11.0
Majority			543	2.2	−10.0
Turnout			23,951	73.4	−6.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.0

He did not stand for parliament again.