Richard Cornthwaite Lambert (5 May 1868 – 5 November 1939) was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

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

Early life

The son of the Reverend Richard U Lambert, vicar of Christ Church,

Bradford on Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists. The parish had ...

, Somerset and his wife Agnes ''née'' Stanton, he was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, graduating with honours in history. He travelled widely in Europe and the Middle East before being

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1892. He practised law on the Midland Circuit. In 1893 he married Lilian Burman of Four Oaks, Warwickshire, with whom he had 3 children. One of his sons was Richard S. Lambert, who was to become editor of '' The Listener''.

Political career

He joined the Liberal Party. He sat on the Executive Committee of the London Liberal Federation. He stood as a Liberal candidate at Sheffield Ecclesall 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, ...

, at Sheffield Attercliffe at a by-election in 1909, and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in January 1910. In 1907 he attempted to win a

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

seat at West Islington for the Liberal-backed Progressive Party but was unsuccessful. However, in March 1910 he was elected to the

at the second attempt; He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...

at the general election in December 1910, In 1913 he stood down from the London County Council. He was a pacifist. During the Great War he opposed the introduction of conscription into the armed services. He joined the

Union of Democratic Control The Union of Democratic Control was a British advocacy group, pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifism, pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government. World Wa ...

, a group of Liberal and Labour MPs who opposed military influence in government. In 1917 he wrote and had published 'The Parliamentary History of Conscription in Great Britain'. In 1918 he joined the Labour Party.The Downfall of the Liberal Party, 1914–1935 by Trevor Wilson The Cricklade constituency was abolished at the 1918 general election, and Lambert did not stand for Parliament again. In 1922 he became librarian at the

Athenaeum Club, London The Athenaeum is a private members' club in London, founded in 1824. It is primarily a club for men and women with intellectual interests, and particularly (but not exclusively) for those who have attained some distinction in science, engineerin ...

, holding the post until 1935.

Election results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Richard Cornthwaite 1868 births 1939 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Inner Temple Members of London County Council Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cricklade People educated at Shrewsbury School Progressive Party (London) politicians UK MPs 1910–1918