Vernon Gerald Bailey (1903 – 12 May 1975), was a prominent British peace campaigner and

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. For example, while the political systems ...

politician who was an early pioneer of a Popular Front later advocated by Sir Stafford Cripps. He was the son of Vernon Bailey of

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. He was educated at Bootham School,

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

. He was the Liberal candidate for the

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...

Division of Hampshire at the 1929 General Election. He was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

and a committed pacifist. In 1930 he was appointed the Directing Secretary of the

National Peace Council The National Peace Council (NPC), founded in 1908 and disbanded in 2000, acted as the co-ordinating body for almost 200 groups across Britain, with a membership ranging from small village peace groups to national trade unions and local authorities. ...

. Bailey was re-selected by Petersfield Liberals to contest the next General Election. Following the formation of the National Government in September 1931 a general election was called. Bailey started his campaign, but when it became clear that his Conservative opponent was being endorsed by not only the Conservative leader

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...

but also the Prime Minister

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

, Bailey withdrew on 14 October.Hull Daily Mail, 14 Oct 1931 Bailey believed that the Conservative dominated National Government could only be defeated if supporters of the Liberal and Labour parties came together locally to support a single candidate. To this end he stood as an

Independent Progressive Independent progressive is a description used both in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to denote a political progressive who lacks a formal affiliation to a party. In the United Kingdom In the late 19th century/early 20th century, the Progressi ...

candidate for the

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

Division of Hampshire at the 1935 General Election. His candidature had the support of both local Liberal and Labour parties. In 1948 he played a leading role at Geneva in the formation of the World Union of Peace Organisations. In 1949 he resigned from his position at the National Peace Council. Bailey was the author of a number of books on Peace, including ''Peace with Russia?'' (1950), ''The Politics of Peace'' (1963) and ''Problems of peace'' (1970).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Vernon Gerald 1903 births 1975 deaths Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge