Bertram Stuart Straus

Quick Facts

Intro

British Member of Parliament

Places

United Kingdom Great Britain

was

Politician

Work field

Politics

Gender

Male

Birth

17 March 1867 People who share this birthday

Place of birth

Manchester

Death

26 August 1933 People who died on this day

Age

66 years

Politics:

Liberal Party

The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Bertram Stuart Straus (17 March 1867 – 26 August 1933) was a British businessman and Liberal Party politician.

Background

Born in Manchester, he was the son of Henry S Straus of Sedgley Park, a merchant and vice consul for the Netherlands. Following education at Harrow School he was articled to Hale & Sons, colonial brokers in the City of London. The company specialised in the importation of ostrich feathers, ivory, rubber, mother of pearl, drugs, gums, spices, cocoa, mica, isinglass, fibres and carpets. He subsequently became a partner in the business, from which he retired in 1898. He was later chairman of Virol Limited, manufacturers of "Virol", a malt extract based vitamin preparation.

Politics

Straus entered politics as a member of Marylebone Vestry, and was later elected as a Progressive Party Councillor to represent Mile End on the London County Council in 1898, and was re-elected in 1901 and 1904.

At the 1895 general election Straus was chosen as the Liberal candidate to contest the constituency of Marylebone West, but failed to be elected. At the next general election in 1900 he stood at Tower Hamlets, St George, narrowly failing to be elected.

St George's in London County with boundaries used in 1900

General Election 1900: Tower Hamlets, St. George Electorate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Thomas Robert Dewar	1,437	55.7	+5.6
	Liberal	Bertram Stuart Straus	1,141	44.3	-5.6
Majority			296	11.4	+11.2
Turnout			3,518	73.3	-9.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.6

When the Mile End by-election, 1905 was held at Mile End in 1905, Straus came close to winning the seat, losing to the Liberal Unionist candidate Harry Levy-Leveson by 78 votes.

Mile End in London County with boundaries used 1905–1910

Mile End by-election, 1905 Electorate 5,380
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Hon. Harry Lawson Webster Levy-Lawson	2,138	50.9	-14.7
	Liberal	Bertram Stuart Straus	2,060	49.1	+14.7
Majority			78	1.8	-29.4
Turnout			5,380	78.0	+15.1
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	-14.7

When a general election was held in the following year, Straus again faced Levy-Lawson at Mile End and managed to unseat him to become member of parliament.

General Election 1906: Tower Hamlets, Mile End Electorate 5,419
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Bertram Stuart Straus	2,295	51.4	+2.3
	Liberal Unionist	Hon. Harry Lawson Webster Levy-Lawson	2,169	48.6	-2.3
Majority			126	2.8	4.6
Turnout			5,419	82.4	+4.4
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+2.3

Straus was only to hold the seat for a single term, with Levy-Leveson regaining it at the next election in January 1910 by 57 votes.

General Election January 1910: Tower Hamlets, Mile End Electorate 5,464
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Ho. Harry Lawson Webster Levy-Lawson	2,332	50.6	+2.0
	Liberal	Bertram Stuart Straus	2,275	49.4	-2.0
Majority			57	1.2	4.0
Turnout				84.3	+1.9
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.0

When a further election was held in December 1910, Straus and Levy-Lawson again faced each other, with Levy-Lawson holding the seat by only 6 votes.

General Election December 1910: Tower Hamlets, Mile End Electorate 5,464
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Ho. Harry Lawson Webster Levy-Lawson	2,176	50.1	-0.5
	Liberal	Bertram Stuart Straus	2,170	49.9	+0.5
Majority			6	0.2	-1.0
Turnout				79.5	-4.8
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	-0.5