Peter Freeman (politician)

Peter Freeman (19 October 1888 – 19 May 1956) was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.

Biography

Freeman was born on 19 October 1888 in London, one of nine children of George James Freeman who was in the tobacco industry.

He was educated at the Haberdashers' School before entering the family business and he become managing directory of the Freeman factory in Cardiff, Wales. He was a noted lawn tennis player and won the Welsh Championship in 1919 and was also described as an expert swimmer.

He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brecon and Radnorshire at the 1929 general election, defeating the Conservative MP Walter D'Arcy Hall by only 187 votes. When Labour split at the 1931 general election over Ramsay MacDonald's formation of a National Government, D'Arcy Hall retook the seat with a majority of over 8,000.

Freeman unsuccessfully stood at the 1935 general election in the Newport constituency, losing by 1,545 votes to the Conservative MP Reginald Clarry. When Clarry died in January 1945, Freeman did not contest the by-election on 17 May. However, at the general election in July 1945, he took the seat with a majority of 9,091 votes over Clarry's Conservative successor Ronald McMillan Bell. He withdrew from his company responsibilities to devote himself to "Parliamentary, philanthropic and social obligations". Although his wealth came from the tobacco industry he was a non-smoker and vegetarian, he was president of the Vegetarian Society of Great Britain.

Freeman held the seat until his death in 1956 at the age of 67. The resulting Newport by-election, 1956 was won by the Labour candidate Frank Soskice, the former Attorney General.

Freeman had married Ella Drummond Torrance and they had a son and daughter.

Bibliography

• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Peter Freeman