Sir Alfred Davies Devonsher Broughton (18 October 1902 – 2 April 1979) was a British Labour Party politician and doctor who was the MP for

Batley and Morley Batley and Morley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Batley and Morley in West Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was ...

from 1949 until his death.

Background

Alfred Davies Devonsher Broughton was born in 1902. His family had been doctors in

Batley Batley is a market town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the popu ...

for decades. He received his education at

Rossall School Rossall School is a private Day school, day and boarding school, boarding school in the United Kingdom for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey, St Vincent Beechey as a ...

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...

, and the

London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and London Borough of Tow ...

. Following in his family's footsteps, he pursued a career as a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

in Batley. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he worked in

civil defence Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, ...

and in the medical branch of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. He was a member of the Batley Borough Council from 1946 to 1949. Broughton was married twice and had two children from his first marriage.

Parliamentary career

Broughton served as the Member of Parliament for

from a 1949 by-election. In 1960, he held the position of opposition

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

. However, throughout the 1970s, Broughton's health deteriorated due to

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

, and he spent much of his time living in hospitals in Yorkshire. The loss of the Labour government's majority meant that his treatment was often disrupted so that he could be transported to London to participate in key votes by being 'nodded through.' Despite considering resignation due to his health, Broughton ultimately decided against it, as some within the party were uncertain if Labour could successfully defend the seat in a by-election.

1979 no confidence vote and death

On 28 March 1979, the government faced a knife-edge vote of no confidence when Broughton was on his deathbed at his home in Batley. Broughton's doctors were extremely concerned for him and strongly advised him not to travel. Broughton knew that his death was imminent, but he was still willing to come down to vote with the government. However, Deputy Chief Whip Walter Harrison, with the agreement of Prime Minister

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

, decided it would be unacceptable to ask him to do so, in case he died during the ambulance journey. The government lost by one vote; had Broughton been present, the Government would have survived, assuming Speaker George Thomas would have broken the tie in favour of the status quo per

Speaker Denison's rule Speaker Denison's rule is a constitutional convention established by John Evelyn Denison, who was Speaker of the British House of Commons from 1857 to 1872, regarding how the Speaker decides on their casting vote in the event of a tie in the ...

. Broughton died five days later, aged 76.

In popular culture

On 8 June 2009, an afternoon play called ''How Are You Feeling, Alf?'' about Broughton and the 1979 no confidence vote was aired on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

. It was written by James Graham and featured

David Ryall David John Ryall
Retrieved 28 December 2014 (5 January 1935 – 25 December 201 ...

as Broughton and

Malcolm Tierney Malcolm Tierney (25 February 1938 – 19 February 2014) was an English actor who appeared in many stage, film and television roles. Early life Tierney's father, Ernest, was a boilermaker and trained draughtsman, from Warrington, who worked at ...

as James Callaghan. Three years later, Graham wrote '' This House'', first staged by the National Theatre, which expanded on the political situation in the 1970s, in which Broughton is a key character. Broughton is also mentioned in the

ITV Studios ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television media company owned by British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is ba ...

TV show

Utopia (British TV series) ''Utopia'' is a British thriller fiction, thriller drama television series that was originally broadcast on Channel 4. The show was written by Dennis Kelly (writer), Dennis Kelly and starred Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Adeel Akhtar, Paul Higgins (act ...

Season 2 Episode 1, as part of plot by to sway

the vote ''The Vote'' is a 2015 play by British playwright James Graham. The play received its world premiere at the Donmar Warehouse as part of their spring 2015 season, where it ran from 24 April to 7 May 2015. Directed by Josie Rourke and set in a f ...

References

External links

* *''Times Guide to the House of Commons October 1974'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Broughton, Alfred 1902 births 1979 deaths 20th-century English medical doctors Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of the London Hospital Medical College Civil Defence Service personnel Councillors in West Yorkshire Deaths from bronchitis Knights Bachelor Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Medical doctors from Yorkshire People educated at Rossall School Royal Air Force personnel of World War II UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979