Sir Luke White (1845 – 17 August 1920) was an English

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.

Early life

White was born at Deighton, Yorkshire. He was a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

by profession, served as Justice of the Peace and was from 1897

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

for the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

Liberal agent

In the 1886 general election he was agent to the Liberal candidate for the Buckrose constituency in the east of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, William Alexander McArthur. At that election, McArthur was declared the victor over his

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

opponent Christopher Sykes by a single vote, 3,742 to 3,741. McArthur and took his seat, but "on scrutiny" the seat was eventually awarded to Sykes.

Liberal MP

In 1899, the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckrose Sir Angus Holden announced he was standing down from politics at the next election and White was adopted by the Buckrose Liberal Council to succeed him. At the time of his adoption White was Chairman of

Driffield Driffield, also known as Great Driffield (neighbouring Little Driffield), is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield. By ...

Urban Council and had previously been an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of the East Riding County Council. He was elected as MP for Buckrose at the General Election of 1900, albeit by the modest margin of 90 votes. At the 1906 general election he increased his majority to 1,602 votes. Political times had become tougher by 1910 however and 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 ...

White's majority dropped to 218. He held on in December 1910 too. During 1918 White's health began to worsen and as a result in July of that year he announced he would not be seeking re-election at the 1918 general election. White was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in November 1908.
The London Gazette
', 18 December 1908 (issue 28206), p. 9650.

Bankruptcy

White's standing down because of ill-health may however have been a touch diplomatic for after the general election it emerged that White was in serious financial difficulty with debts of more than £21,000 much of which had apparently been run up in election expenses. White was called to appear before the

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Bankruptcy Court but failed to attend citing his poor health. A warrant for his arrest on fraud charges, jointly with a local solicitor, Herbert Brown described in the press as White's clerk, was later issued but the court was told that White's physical and mental health would not allow him to be moved and the warrant was suspended. After a six-day hearing Brown was acquitted of the charges in June 1919.The Times, 23 June 1919 White died in 1920.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Luke 1845 births 1920 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Political history of Yorkshire English solicitors Place of birth missing Knights Bachelor