Henrietta Adler (1 December 1868 – 15 April 1950), known as Nettie Adler, was a British

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician who was one of the first women to be elected to and to be able to take her seat on the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

Early life

Adler was born in London on 1 December 1868. She was the daughter of

Hermann Adler Hermann Adler HaKohen CVO (30 May 1839 – 18 July 1911; Hebrew נפתלי צבי הירש הכהן אדלר ) was the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire from 1891 to 1911. The son (and successor as Chief Rabbi) of Nathan Marcus Adler, the 1911 ' ...

, who would later succeed his father as chief rabbi, and Rachel Adler. She was educated at a private school and classes.

Career

Adler began social work as a school manager under the London School Board. She was honorary secretary of the Committee on Wage Earning Children, 1899–1946. She was a Member of Council of the Anglo-Jewish Association and a member of the Jewish Board of Guardians. She was a justice of the peace.

Political career

Adler was a

member, which in London local government was aligned with the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

. She was first politically active in her home area of Hackney. Her main political interest was in education. She was a member of the governing bodies of the Dalston County School, of the

Hackney Downs School Hackney Downs School was an 11–16 boys, community comprehensive secondary school in Lower Clapton, Greater London, England. It was established in 1876 and closed in 1995. It has been replaced by the Mossbourne Community Academy. History ...

and the Hackney Technical Institute. Due to her interest in educational matters she was co-opted onto the London Education Committee by the Progressive majority in 1905, serving as on that body until she was elected to it following the

1910 London County Council election An election to the London County Council, County Council of London took place on 5 March 1910. It was the eighth triennial election of the whole Council. The size of the council was 118 councillors and 19 aldermen. The councillors were elected ...

. When the Liberal government first created the

in 1899 there was no stipulation that women could not stand as candidates for election and two Progressive women candidates stood and were elected. However, there was a legal challenge made by one of the defeated Conservative candidates and as a result, neither of the women were able to take their seats. When the Liberal Party returned to power, they changed the law in 1908 to allow women to be elected to the London County Council and this change came into effect for the 1910 elections. Adler was one of two women who were elected, as one of the representatives for the constituency of

Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail areas to the north o ...

in 1910. In March 1913 she was re-elected, although her running mate lost to the Municipal Reform Party; In March 1919, following the end of the war, the boundaries for her constituency were slightly altered and she was returned unopposed due to an electoral agreement of the Progressive and Municipal Reform parties to only adopt one candidate each; In March 1922 the electoral arrangement between the Progressive and Municipal Reform parties continued; From 1922 to 1923 she served as deputy chair of the London County Council. She was defeated in 1925. She was a Member of the Departmental Committee on Charity Collections, 1925–27. Following the demise of the Progressive Party she was re-elected to the LCC in 1928 standing as a Liberal Party candidate; She was finally defeated in 1931. Despite her election defeat in 1931, she was co-opted onto the London County Council Public Health Committee for a three-year term.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Henrietta 1868 births 1950 deaths 20th-century British women politicians Burials at Willesden Jewish Cemetery Jewish British politicians Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Members of London County Council People from Hackney Central Progressive Party (London) politicians Women councillors in England