Trevelyan Thomson

Walter Trevelyan Thomson (30 April 1875 – 8 February 1928) was a British Liberal Member of Parliament, iron and steel merchant and soldier.

[3] Thomson had become an established and respected Middlesbrough businessman and like so many other Victorian and Edwardian successes, he wished to serve his community and his ambition through politics.

At the 1922 general election Thomson faced a National Liberal candidate, i.e. one supporting the outgoing coalition prime minister David Lloyd George but again won comfortably by 16,811 votes to 7,422 - a majority of 9,389.

At the general election the following year Thomson again faced no Tory candidate and easily beat his Labour opponent by 16,837 votes to 7,413 – a majority of 9,424.

[6] Thomson held his seat in the 1924 election because he was one of only a few Liberal MPs to establish a considerable personal following with his local electorate[7] and he was well known for his many Parliamentary interventions, questions to ministers and contributions to debate in the House of Commons.

[6] There was a rumour circulating after the election that Thomson was to be asked to stand down and cause a by-election in Middlesbrough to make way for a return to the Commons by H H Asquith, who had lost his seat at Paisley.

Thomson certainly made a hasty trip down to London immediately after the election for political meetings but he denied he had been asked to stand aside and no such by-election ever took place.

The Group was formed because Asquith had lost his seat and David Lloyd George had become chair of the Parliamentary Liberal Party in his place.