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St John Hutchinson

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St John Hutchinson

St John Hutchinson KC (8 April 1884 – 24 October 1942) was a British barrister and Liberal Party politician.

Background

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Hutchinson was the only son of Charles Frederick Hutchinson and Ellen Soames of Scarborough. He was educated at Elstree School near Newbury, Berkshire, Winchester College in Hampshire and Magdalen College, Oxford where he received a Bachelor of Arts with History Honours in 1905. In 1910 he married Mary Barnes. They had one son, Jeremy and one daughter, Barbara Judith, who married Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild.[1]

Professional career

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In 1909 Hutchinson became a Barrister-at-law, receiving a Call to the bar by the Middle Temple he joined the South-Eastern Circuit. In 1917 he was appointed Assistant Legal Adviser to the Ministry of Re-construction. In 1928 he became Recorder of Hythe, Kent. In 1930 he became Recorder of Hastings in Sussex, a post retained until his death. In 1931 he became Prosecuting Counsel to the Post Office at the Central Criminal Court. He held this post for four years. In 1935 he became a King's Counsel.[2]

Political career

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Hutchinson's introduction to politics came through his father, who had been elected as Liberal MP for the Rye division of Sussex at the 1903 Rye by-election. His father lost the seat at the 1906 General Election. In November 1909, 2 years after his father's death, he succeeded him as Liberal prospective candidate for Rye[3] and stood at the January 1910 General Election. He was well beaten by the incumbent Conservative;

General Election January 1910: Rye[4] Electorate 13,746
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Loyd Courthope 7,352
Liberal St John Hutchinson 4,750
Majority 2,602
Turnout
Conservative hold Swing

He was Liberal candidate again for Rye at the December 1910 General Election but again finished second;

General Election December 1910: Rye[5] Electorate 13,746
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Loyd Courthope 6,673
Liberal St John Hutchinson 4,461
Majority 2,212
Turnout
Conservative hold Swing

In 1912 he was elected to the London County Council in a by-election at Poplar, holding the seat for the Liberal party backed Progressives. He was re-elected, topping the poll in 1913, running in tandem with a Labour party candidate;

London County Council election, 1913: Poplar[6] Electorate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Green tickY St John Hutchinson 3,061
Labour Green tickY Arabella Susan Lawrence 2,960
Municipal Reform T Vosper 1,599
Municipal Reform Mrs Elliott 1,492
Majority 1,361
Labour hold Swing
Majority 1,462
Progressive hold Swing

In 1916 he stood down from the County Council.[7] He was Liberal candidate for the Isle of Wight division at the 1929 General Election. This was a Unionist/Liberal marginal seat that the Unionists had won at the previous election in 1924 and the Liberals had last won in 1923. Although the Liberals were experiencing a mini-revival nationally, he could not translate that into a win on the Isle of Wight;

1929 United Kingdom general election: Isle of Wight[8] Electorate 57,693
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Peter Drummond Macdonald 21,949 48.2 −4.2
Liberal St John Hutchinson 17,383 38.1 +0.3
Labour H E Weaver 6,256 13.7 +3.9
Majority 4.566 10.1 −4.5
Turnout 79.0
Unionist hold Swing -2.3

He did not stand for parliament again.[9] He continued to support the Liberal party. In 1939 on the Isle of Wight he spoke in support of the Liberal prospective candidate Helen Browne.[10]

Other interests

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Hutchinson was a member of the Executive Committee of the Contemporary Art Society.[11] Shortly before his death he was appointed a Trustee of the Tate Gallery.[12]

Jeremy Hutchinson

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Although St John Hutchinson was unable to follow his father into parliament, his son Jeremy entered parliament in 1978.[13] He was recommended by Liberal party leader, David Steel for a life peerage, and took the title of Baron Hutchinson of Lullington and a seat in the House of Lords where he sat as a Liberal and later a Liberal Democrat, until on 3 October 2011 he became one of the first two peers to retire from membership under a newly instituted procedure.[14]

References

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  1. ^ ‘HUTCHINSON, St John’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012; online edn, Oct 2012 accessed 13 April 2014
  2. ^ ‘HUTCHINSON, St John’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012; online edn, Oct 2012 accessed 13 April 2014
  3. ^ Hastings and St Leonards Observer 13 November 1909
  4. ^ British parliamentary election results 1885–1918, Craig, F.W.S.
  5. ^ British parliamentary election results 1885–1918, Craig, F.W.S.
  6. ^ London Municipal Notes, 1913
  7. ^ The Times House of Commons, 1929
  8. ^ British parliamentary election results 1918–1949, Craig, F.W.S.
  9. ^ British parliamentary election results 1918–1949, Craig, F.W.S.
  10. ^ The Liberal Magazine, 1939
  11. ^ ‘HUTCHINSON, St John’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012; online edn, Oct 2012 accessed 13 April 2014
  12. ^ "Obituary." Times [London, England] 26 October 1942: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 April 2014.
  13. ^ The London Gazette: no. 47536. p. 5983. 18 May 1978.
  14. ^ "Former Archbishop of York retires from House of Lords". The Press. 3 October 2011.
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