William Henry Flanagan (8 April 1871 – 21 June 1944)[1] was a British wadding and wool merchant and a Conservative and Unionist Party politician.

[3] On 15 January 1922 Edward Hopkinson, Member of Parliament for Manchester Clayton, died and Flanagan was adopted as Coalition Unionist candidate for the resulting by-election.

[4] Flanagan is described as the managing director of the Imperial Patent Wadding Company Limited.

[4] Flanagan was beaten in the by-election by John Edward Sutton, a trade union official and Labour candidate.

[6] It was not until the 1931 general election that Flanagan won the seat again and return to Parliament.