John Frederick Lees (1809 – 1867) was a British landowner and Liberal Conservative politician who represented Oldham in the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

as a Member of Parliament from 1835 to 1837.

Biography

Lees was the grandson of a cotton manufacturer, a local mill-owner, mine-owner, and landowner: the

Lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

of Oldham and an

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

graduate, but was dismissed as "a gentleman... qualified neither by age nor ability to fulfill the duties of a member of the imperial parliament" by the '' Manchester Times.'' ''

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...

'' reports him to have made no speeches in Parliament during his term.

Politics

Thanks to internal squabbles (principally over the desired relationship between the state and the Anglican church) amongst the Radicals of Oldham,the divisions between Oldham Radicals are explored at length in ; pages 31-59 cover the period 1832-7 he was elected as a 'Liberal Conservative' at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

caused by the death of William Cobbett, narrowly defeating John Morgan Cobbett (Cobbett's son) after another Radical candidate ( Feargus O'Connor) withdrew on the first morning of the poll. Lees attributed his victory to the absence of the organised 'intimidation system' he claimed had been practiced in the previous contested election ( that of 1832). By the general election of 1837 the Radicals had regrouped, and Lees came bottom of the poll: this he attributed to the return of intimidation and ' exclusive dealing'.

References

External links

History of Parliament Online - LEES, John Frederick (1809-1867), of Werneth, Oldham, Lancs.
(currently (Feb 2016) at 'preview' status - password protected) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lees, John Frederick People from Oldham UK MPs 1835–1837 Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham 1809 births 1867 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies