William Evans-Gordon

Who was William Evans-Gordon?

Major Sir William Eden Evans-Gordon was a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament. As a soldier he had served on the North-West Frontier. He was originally commissioned into the 67th Foot, but later transferred to the Madras Staff Corps and was attached to the Indian Government.

As MP for Stepney Evans-Gordon represented a constituency that saw a lot of immigration during the late 19th century and early 20th century and as a result he became known as one of the most vocal critics at the time, commenting that 'a storm is brewing which, if it is allowed to burst, will have deplorable results'. First elected to Parliament in the 1900 general election, Evans-Gordon had campaigned on a platform of limiting immigration from Eastern Europe, notably that of Jews, many of whom had moved to his constituency. His campaign proved a success as he won the seat by overturning what had previously been a Liberal majority. Once elected he continued his theme of anti-immigrant rhetoric, claiming in 1902 that 'not a day passes but English families are ruthlessly turned out to make room for foreign invaders. The rates are burdened with the education of thousands of foreign children.'