.JOURNAL OFTIIE CHURCHILL CKNTER AND ... - Winston Churchill

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AMPERSAND (2)All the Elections Churchill Ever ContestedDouglas J. HallIn a parliamentary career spanning sixty-four yearsChurchill represented five constituencies and servedunder thirteen Prime Ministers (Lord Salisbury, Balfour,Campbell-Bannerman, Asquith, Lloyd George,Bonar Law, Baldwin, MacDonald, Chamberlain, Attlee,Eden, Macmillan and Douglas-Home—and, of course,his own Premierships, 1940-45 and 1951-55.Churchill from the beginning invariably addressednational rather than local issues. Oldham (for which hesat in 1900-06) was an important cotton-spinning centrewhose electorate favoured the Conservative policy of Protectionism,which advocated duties on cheap foreign textiles.Churchill's Free Trader stance and consequent defectionto the Liberals was based on national rather thanlocal considerations, but as a result the Oldham ConservativeAssociation passed a resolution that he "had forfeitedtheir confidence in him."Following his deselection at Oldham, Churchillwas invited to stand for North West Manchester, one ofnine of that city's constituencies, with a tiny electorate ofjust 10,000, of whom almost a third were Jewish.Churchill polled 5,639 votes with a majority of 1,241.He represented the constituency for just over two years.By now a junior minister (Under Secretary of State forthe Colonies), he was almost entirely concerned with nationaland international affairs. The Liberal governmentbrought in an Aliens Act which angered the powerfulJewish element in Churchill's constituency, and localCatholics were incensed because he would not commithimself over Home Rule for Ireland. When, in the customof the day, he had to submit to reelection on beingappointed to the Cabinet as President of the Board ofTrade, he was narrowly defeated by the Tory candidate.Just two weeks later Churchill found a "seat of convenience"at Dundee. He polled 7,079 votes while theConservative and Labour candidates split 8,384 votes betweenthem. He remained MP for Dundee for over fourteenyears, during which time he was almost continuouslya Cabinet minister.Churchill initially saw Dundee as "a seat for life,"but suffered the inconvenience of its being 440 milesfrom Westminster and, in those days, only practically accessibleby a rather joyless overnight sleeper train fromKing's Cross. Scotland's third largest city, Dundee was6Jul99:lOctOO:13JanO6:24AprO8:9MayO8:18Janl0:9DeclO:29Jull7:l4Decl8:15Nov22:6Dec23:19Mar24:29Oct24:30May29:27Oct31:14NOV35:5Jul45:23Feb50:25Oct51:25May55:8Oct59:Totals:By-election (Oldham) -lostGeneral election (Oldham) -wonGeneral election (NW Manchester) -wonBy-election (NW Manchester) -lostBy-election (Dundee) -wonGeneral election (Dundee) -wonGeneral election (Dundee) -wonBy-election (Dundee) -wonGeneral election (Dundee) -wonGeneral election (Dundee) -lost*General election (West Leicester) -lostBy-election (Westminster, Abbey) -lostGeneral election (Epping) -wonGeneral election (Epping) -wonGeneral election (Epping) -wonGeneral election (Epping) -wonGeneral election (Woodford**) -wonGeneral election (Woodford) -wonGeneral election (Woodford) -wonGeneral election (Woodford) -wonGeneral election (Woodford) -won21 campaigns; 16 wins and 5 losses* The 1922 election was lost to Ernest Scrymgeour who had foughtand lost Dundee to WSC in the previous five elections.** Woodford was a division of the former Epping constituency.hardly a joyful place in which to arrive of a morning,dark, tall and grimy, with much unemployment, povertyand drunkenness. Curiously, the electorate at first felt honouredto be represented by a Cabinet minister andseemed prepared to overlook Churchill's long absences.But the relationship became strained after World War I,when Churchill's own controversial escapades compoundedwith much local bitterness and disillusionmentled to his defeat in the 1922 election. Shortly beforepolling day Churchill had been stricken with appendicitis,which limited his campaigning. He finished fourthbehind a Prohibitionist, a Labourite and a local Liberal,and later wrote: "I found myself without an office, withouta seat, without a party and without an appendix."Churchill was out of Parliament for almost twoFINEST HOUR 103 / 49
Recipes rrom No. 10: Pommes de terre Annaby Georgina Landemare (Churchill Family Cook, c. 1940s-50s)Updated & annotated by Barbara Langworth (PotatoesAnna—I never didfind out whoAnna was)This simplerecipe is all inthe preparationand presentation.Use 1/4 lb butter per two pounds of very, verythinly sliced potatoes (yellow are very nice). It is a goodbuffet dish.Mrs. Landemare's original recipe is:"Potatoes. Fresh butter.Peel some potatoes and cut into very thin rounds thesize of a florin. Wash in salted water and dry very well ina cloth. Well butter anomelette pan. Place alayer of potatoes on thebottom. Cover withoiled [melted] butter,pepper and salt. Repeatthese layers until the panis full and cook in amedium [350° F] oven until brown [40-60 min]. Removefrom the oven, turn out and cut into slices orserve whole in a dish."Since the dish is inverted, it is important that the firstlayer of potatoes be attractively arranged. Select perfectslices, and overlap them carefully. Mrs. Landemareprobably had a copper or cast iron omelette pan. If youdon't have an "omelette pan" which is ovenproof, use apie plate. Keep in mind the final shape makes the presentation.A watercress or parsley garnish adds color.ELECTIONS, continued...years, unsuccessfully contesting by-elections at LeicesterWest and Westminster in 1923-24. In the 1924 generalelection he was adopted as the "Independent Constitutionalistanti-Socialist" candidate for Epping, which effectivelyremained his constituency for the rest of his political career.In his five years as Chancellor of the ExchequerChurchill was engrossed in national issues: the GeneralStrike; pensions for widows, orphans and the elderly;taxes and the Gold Standard; unemployment and theDepression. Constituency concerns received scant attention.Churchill's visits were mainly whistle-stop tours andan occasional summer fete. Nevertheless, in that "semiruralconstituency among the glades of Epping Forest,"the voters seemed content with their MP's high profile,and prepared to overlook his limited parochial presence.He was popular, respected, even regarded as something ofa Colossus.The May 1929 election swept the Tories from officeand Churchill's majority was slashed to 5,000, hissmallest ever for Epping/Woodford. Through 1939 hewas out of office, increasingly isolated from his party,first over Dominion status for India, then over rearmament.In the 1935 election he faced considerable hostilityat several meetings but polled almost 35,000 votes andrecorded his largest majority (20,419). During its recordrun (1935-45), the new Parliament saw Churchill returntriumphantly to the centre of affairs, but not before hehad ruffled constituency feathers with his attacks onChamberlain's policy of appeasement. Several constituencybranches passed resolutions of censure andChurchill later regarded the episode as "one of the majorpolitical crises" he had faced in his career.In 1945 Epping was subdivided. The new EppingDivision looked marginal (in fact it was won by Labour)so Churchill stood for the new Woodford Division. Hewon by a majority of over 17,000, but nationally Labourwon 393 seats to only 189 for the Tories.Churchill now became Leader of the Opposition.During the election of February 1950, he polled morethan 37,000 votes, double that of his challenger. Nationallythe Attlee majority was reduced to six. This was notenough to sustain a radical programme and when Attleecalled another election in 1951 the Conservatives won321 seats to Labour's 295. Churchill returned to DowningStreet with a personal record: 40,938 votes.Woodford sent him back again in 1955, despitesome rumblings that he was now eighty, and no longerPrime Minister. His vote (25,069) was the lowest since1929, though there had been some population decreasesand he did retain a huge majority. Once more he won in1959—by nearly 15,000 votes. Churchill served as MPuntil October 1964, although age and infirmity limitedhis appearances both in Commons and in Woodford.When he finally resigned he was nearly ninety. The electorsof Woodford had clearly, in Burke's phrase, "chosen amember indeed." Mainly they remained unperturbed byhis age. They were represented by a legend. M>FINEST HOUR 103 / 50
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.JOURNAL OFTIIE CHURCHILL CKNTER AND ... - Winston Churchill

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