Herbert Looker

Herbert William Looker (2 December 1871 - 13 December 1951) was the Conservative MP for the South East Essex constituency from 1924 to 1929.

Looker was born 2 December 1871 in St Ives, Huntingdonshire. He was educated privately before joining a London firm of solicitors; he was managing clerk from 1894 to 1895. In 1895 he moved to Hong Kong to join a firm of solicitors there, becoming a partner in Deacon, Looker and Deacon.^[1] Following his retirement in 1919 he returned to England to live in Great Baddow, near Chelmsford^[2] and began a political career.

On 6 October 1921 he was selected to fight the Hull Central constituency by the Central Hull Conservative Council.^[3] The following year he was defeated by the incumbent Labour MP Joseph Kenworthy by 15,374 votes to 12,347 in the 1922 General Election.^[4]

Two years later, on 12 March 1924 Looker was unanimously selected to be the Conservative Candidate for South East Essex.^[2] The general election was held later that year and this time Looker defeated the incumbent Labour MP Philip Hoffman by 19,731 votes to 13,820.^[5] While an MP he was a regular contributor to parliamentary debates.^[6]

On 8 May 1929 Looker was again unanimously selected to be the Conservative candidate to fight the next election. This time though it was to be a three-horse race with the addition of a Liberal candidate which the Conservatives knew made the chance of regaining the seat more difficult.^[7] Their fears were realised when the Labour candidate, Jack Oldfield, won the constituency with a majority of just 626, receiving 18,756 votes. Looker received 18,130 votes, and the Liberal candidate, George Thomas Veness, 13,030 votes.^[8]

Some time after his election defeat he moved to Forest Row, Sussex.^[1] Here, in April 1933, he was elected to the Withyham Division of East Sussex County Council.^[9] He remained there until his death on 13 December 1951.^[10]

References

1. Who's Who 1944. New York: The Macmillan Company. 1944. p. 1675.
2. "Mr H W Looker - Prospective Unionist Candidate". Chelmsford Chronicle. No. 8322. 14 March 1924. p. 5. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "Opponent for Commander Kenworthy at Hull - Mr H W Looker Adopted". The Yorkshire Post. No. 23175. 7 October 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "Declaring the Polls". Hull Daily Mail. No. 11585. 16 November 1922. p. 5. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "The General Election". Chelmsford Chronicle. No. 8355. 31 October 1924. p. 5. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "Mr Herbert Looker (Hansard)". Historic Hansard. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via UK Parliament.
7. "South-East Essex - Conservative Candidate Adopted". Chelmsford Chronicle. No. 8591. 10 May 1929. p. 11. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "The General Election - Essex Results". Chelmsford Chronicle. No. 8595. 7 June 1929. p. 7. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Sussex County Council Election - Yesterday's Voting at Withyam". Kent & Sussex Courier. No. 5076. 7 April 1933. p. 22. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Legal Notices - Herbert William Looker deceased". Crawley and District Observer. No. 3668. 1 February 1952. p. 11. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Philip Hoffman	Member of Parliament for South East Essex 1924–1929	Succeeded by Jack Oldfield