Joshua Cardwell (1910–1982) was a Unionist

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

Early life and career

Born in Belfast and educated locally, Cardwell worked as the manager of a coal importing firm. In 1952 he was elected to Belfast Corporation for Victoria Ward and later became an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

. During the 1960s Cardwell chaired the committee which was responsible for children's homes in the city. In 1969 he was elected to the

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore o ...

for Belfast Pottinger as an 'O'Neill Unionist' supporting the reform proposals of the then Prime Minister. He remained a member until the Parliament was prorogued in 1972. In 1973 he was elected to the

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for Belfast East, as a Unionist pledged to support the former Prime Minister Brian Faulkner. When the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule ...

split in 1974, Cardwell became a founder member of the

Unionist Party of Northern Ireland The Unionist Party of Northern Ireland was a political party founded by Brian Faulkner in September 1974. Formation The party emerged following splits in the Ulster Unionist Party in 1973 and 1974 over the British government's white paper ''N ...

and was returned for Belfast East in the 1975

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election. He remained a member of Belfast City Council until his death, representing 'Area B' equivalent to the current Victoria area. He was unmarried.

Kincora Boys' Home abuse scandal

In March 1982, Cardwell was questioned by police in relation to his visits to Kincora Boys' Home, which had seen a child sex abuse scandal. The Hughes report into the scandal noted that Cardwell told the police of one conversation with the Belfast Town Clerk, who had mentioned an imprecise allegation of homosexual conduct (which at that time would have been illegal in Northern Ireland), but he said that no formal complaint had ever come his way. Shortly after the police interview Cardwell's body was found in a car in the garage of his home in Belfast, and he was found to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning; the coroner stated that the death was "inexplicable". Others regarded it as suicide. The Hughes report concluded "There is no evidence that Councillor Cardwell took steps to prevent an investigation or suppress the matter." It mentioned that, as a member (and chairman) of the Welfare Committee, Cardwell had statutory visiting responsibilities in relation to homes. The Josh Cardwell Centre, providing rehabilitation services in East Belfast, was named in his honour, but this closed in 2007. It was to burn down in a fire on May 9, 2017.
BBC Northern Ireland

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardwell, Joshua 1910 births 1982 deaths Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Unionist Party of Northern Ireland politicians Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1969–1973 Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974 Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention Independent politicians in Northern Ireland Members of Belfast City Council Suicides in Belfast British politicians who committed suicide Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Belfast constituencies Ulster Unionist Party councillors