William Roupell (7 April 1831 – 25 March 1909) was Liberal Party Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom for Lambeth from 1857 until his resignation on 4 February 1862.
William was the illegitimate son of Richard Palmer Roupell (1782–1856), scrap-metal dealer and property developer, and Sarah Crane (1796–1878), daughter of Thomas, a carpenter.
[2] Richard Palmer amassed considerable wealth in property, especially that he sold to the emerging railway network and William became interested in the business.
[6] Following the Metropolis Management Act 1855, William was elected to the Lambeth Vestry whose job was to co-ordinate the area's developing infrastructure though he appears to have taken little active role in proceedings.
William resolved to stand for parliament in Lambeth and launched his campaign in 1857 with a speech making much of his understanding of working class life and declaring himself to be a reformer:[7] ... to support the ballot, extension of suffrage, equalisation of the poor rate, administrative reform, to uphold the honour of the country in connection with its foreign relations, to oppose compulsory church rates and support the reduction of public expenditure in order to abolish income tax.
He was accused of bribing and corrupting voters, opening public houses for popular resort and maintaining that they were hired as committee rooms, and paying canvassers.
[12] Richard now initiated a sequence of court cases in the hope of restoring his fortune, firstly against Waite, who was now in possession of the Norbiton Estate.
[13] William gave evidence for his brother, admitting the frauds and forgeries and his own perjury in the grant of probate of his father's estate.
The judge, Mr Justice Byles, emphasising the seriousness of the offences, sentenced William to penal servitude for life.