Henry Fildes

Who was Henry Fildes?

Sir Henry Fildes was a Liberal Party, later National Liberal Party and later still Liberal National Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament from 1920 to 1923 and from 1935 to 1945.

He was elected as Coalition Liberal Member of Parliament for Stockport at a by-election in March 1920, following the death of one of the constituency's two MPs and the resignation of the other. He was re-elected in 1922 as a National Liberal, but was defeated at the 1923 general election by the Liberal Party candidate Charles Royle.

He did not contest the 1924 election, and came third in a closely fought 3-way contest at the 1925 by-election. He was unsuccessful again in 1929, and did not stand in 1931.

After the death in July 1935 of Joseph Hunter, the Liberal National MP for Dumfriesshire, Fildes contested the by-election in September, winning the seat with a large majority over his only opponent, the Labour Co-operative candidate. Only a month after the by-election, Parliament was dissolved for the 1935 general election, when Fildes was re-elected by a large majority. He stood down from Parliament at the 1945 general election.