Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton

Who was Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton?

Frederick James Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton, CH, PC was an English businessman, statesman and politician. A successful department store owner and wartime Minister of Food, Lord Woolton became Conservative Party Chairman from 1946 to 1955. He rebuilt the local organisations with an emphasis on membership, money and a unified national propaganda appeal on critical issues. To broaden the base of potential candidates, the national party provided financial aid to candidates, and assisted the local organisations in raising local money. Woolton also proposed changing the name of the party to the Union Party, but when that suggestion fell on deaf ears he instead emphasised a rhetoric that characterised opponents as "Socialist" rather than "Labour". He is given significant credit for the Conservative victory in 1951, their first since 1935.