Howell Davies - Parliamentary Politics

Parliamentary Politics

Davies first stood for Parliament at the general election of 1900, the so-called Khaki election. He had been adopted as the Liberal candidate for Bristol South before the sitting MP (Sir Edward Stock Hill) had decided to retire. His Conservative opponent was Walter Hume Long.

Long won that election and even though the political tide had turned decisively against them by the time of the 1906 general election the Conservatives believed they would hold Bristol South, evenly if only narrowly. However Bristol South was one of many unexpected gains for the Liberals in their 1906 general election landslide victory. The Liberals took three of the four Bristol seats at the election and as late as 14 January, Liberal Chief Whip, Herbert Gladstone had confidently expected Walter Long to hold on in Bristol South. However Davies beat Long with a majority of 2,692 votes. He held the seat at the next election in January 1910 albeit by the narrow margin of 271 votes. As a consequence, Davies expected a hard fought contest at the December 1910 election. Divisions in the Bristol Unionist ranks may have helped divert Tory attentions from the real fight. H Chatterton who had stood for the Conservatives in January 1910 was dropped by the Tories in favour of a different candidate and decided to put himself forward as an Independent Unionist, only withdrawing from the election at the last moment. In the end Davies was able to hold his seat over the new Conservative candidate J T Francombe with a majority of 138.

Davies never held ministerial office but he was appointed to the important Parliamentary Select Committee on National Expenditure in 1920.

At the 1918 general election Davies was the representative of the Coalition government and was opposed only by Labour candidate T C Lewis, over whom he had a majority of 7,352 votes. He stood down from Parliament at the 1922 general election but continued to play a part in Liberal politics, representing the South West on the National Liberal Council.