Sir Thomas Robinson (January 1827 – 26 Oct 1897) was an English corn merchant and Liberal politician who sat in 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 ...

between 1880 and 1895. Robinson was born at Weston. He became a corn merchant of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

and was an Alderman and mayor of the city four times. He was also a J.P.Debretts Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886
/ref> In 1873, Robinson stood in a by-election

after out manoeuvering former Liberal member

John Joseph Powell John Joseph Powell (1816 – 15 September 1891), was a British barrister, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Gloucester (UK Parliament constituency), Gloucester, 1862–1865. Life He was the eldest son of Thoma ...

for the candidature, but was defeated. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Gloucester in 1880 after the Liberals had established a party caucus chosen by ward meetings, resulting in improved organisation. However bribery and corruption were on a major scale in Gloucester and Robinson was unseated in the same year. His willingness to stand down and the unwillingness of the Conservatives to take matters further led to suspicions of collusion between the parties and a Royal Commission was set up to examine electoral practices. The Royal Commission concluded that Gloucester was among the most corrupt of the seven towns investigated and that bribery was endemic in all elections in the city. The Commission concluded that half of the electorate had taken bribes in 1880, and blamed local politicians for most of the corruption. Notwithstanding this, and the virtual halving of the electorate eligible to vote, Robinson was reelected for Gloucester in 1885 when representation had been reduced to one member under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

. ''Gloucester, 1835–1985: Parliamentary representation'', A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 4: The City of Gloucester (1988), pp. 205–209. Date accessed: 22 April 2009
/ref> He was knighted in

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

1894 Birthday Honours The 1894 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The Queen, and we ...

Personal life

His first cousin

Elisha Smith Robinson Elisha Smith Robinson (1817–1885) was an English businessman and politician. Early life and business career Robinson was born in 1817 in Overbury, on the Worcestershire-Gloucestershire borders where his father Edward Robinson, a paper maker, ...

was also a Liberal politician and Mayor of Bristol. Robinson lived at Longford Park, near Gloucester. He died at the age of 70. Robinson married Harriet Godwin in 1852.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Thomas 1827 births 1897 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Members of Parliament for Gloucester Knights Bachelor