Austin Taylor (1858 – 27 April 1955) was a Conservative Party, later

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, politician in the

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Early life

Taylor was born in Everton in 1858, the son of Rev. William Taylor, a vicar and later Archdeacon of Liverpool. His brother W. F. Taylor was a KC in the Northern Circuit and Recorder of Bolton and his brother Gerald Kyffin-Taylor was MP for Liverpool Kirkdale from 1910 to 1915. He was educated at

Liverpool College Liverpool College is a coeducational day and boarding school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. It was one of the thirteen founding members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, Headmasters' Conference. History Liverpool Coll ...

and at

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

, where he took his BA degree in 1880. Joining the steamship and merchants company ''Messrs. Hugh Evans and Co.'', he succeeded as head of the firm on the death of his uncle Hugh Evans in 1891.

Political career

Taylor was a magistrate and prominent member of the

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous ...

. In 1892 he was elected municipal representative of the large and populous Everton Ward, but in 1895 declined re-election due to business commitments. At the following election in 1900, however, he again stood for election, this time for Dingle Ward, and after election he became chairman of the Housing Committee of the council. Taylor was president of the Liverpool Philomathic Society, and among the creators and later Chairman of the Liverpool Laymen's League. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool East Toxteth at a by-election in November 1902 following the

resignation Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

of the Conservative MP Augustus Frederick Warr. He was re-elected unopposed in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

. He was a Unionist Free Trader and resigned from the Conservative Party in February 1906, crossing the floor to join the Liberal Party. He stood down from the

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at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

. In June 1918, the Liberal MP for Buckrose became ill and was looking to retire. The local Liberal Association selected Taylor as their candidate to succeed him. Due to the war-time electoral truce, Taylor expected to be elected in a by-election unopposed. However, the by-election was not called and a General Election was called for December instead. A Labour candidate was chosen to contest the seat. Taylor hoped to receive endorsement from the Coalition government, but at the eleventh hour, that endorsement was given to a latecomer to the contest, who stood as a Coalition Liberal and was elected instead.

Family

Taylor married in 1886 Lucia Whitaker, daughter of Edward Whitaker, of Liverpool, and had four children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Austin 1858 births 1955 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool constituencies UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 People educated at Liverpool College Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge