Howell Davies (politician)

Sir William Howell Davies (13 December 1851 – 26 October 1932) was a Welsh-born leather merchant and Liberal Party politician.

[5] Like many successful Victorian and Edwardian businessmen, Davies was eager to serve his community through municipal politics and at the same time provide himself a stepping-stone to further advancement.

For more than 46 years Davies took a leading role in political life of the city of Bristol and in 1908 he was knighted for municipal services in the King's birthday honours list.

[8] He had been adopted as the Liberal candidate for Bristol South before the sitting MP (Sir Edward Stock Hill) had decided to retire.

H Chatterton who had stood for the Conservatives in January 1910 was dropped by the Tories in favour of a different candidate and decided to put himself forward as an Independent Unionist, only withdrawing from the election at the last moment.

At the 1918 general election Davies was the representative of the Coalition government and was opposed only by Labour candidate Thomas Lewis, over whom he had a majority of 7,352 votes.