{{Short description|British Liberal politician, journalist and lecturer}} {{EngvarB|date=September 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}} thumb|right|Josephy in 1935 '''Frances Louise Josephy''' (February 1900 – 1985) was a British Liberal politician, journalist and lecturer.
==Background== She was born in Broughty Ferry, Forfarshire.<ref>The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1929</ref> She was educated at Seymour Lodge School, Dundee, before going on to St. Andrews University and Newnham College, Cambridge.<ref>The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1951</ref> She graduated from Cambridge with a degree in Classics and English.<ref>The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1950</ref>
==Political career== In 1924, she joined the National League of Young Liberals. She was Research Secretary to the Radical Parliamentary Group in the House of Commons. In March 1928 she stood at the London County Council elections as a Liberal candidate for St. Marylebone alongside Harcourt Johnstone. They trailed both Municipal Reform and Labour candidates.<ref>Twentieth-Century Local Election Results Volume 1 (John Woolard and Alan Willis)</ref> In February 1929 she was selected as prospective Liberal candidate for Winchester for the general election. She contested Winchester in 1929. This was a safe Tory seat that they had won at every election since 1885 and at the previous election, the Liberals came third. She managed to increase the Liberal vote but still finished third. During the 1929-31 parliament she was a regular attendee of debates in both houses. She was a regular contributor to 'The Forward View' the monthly journal of the National League of Young Liberals. Her column entitled 'Seen From The Gallery' reported on the role the Liberal were playing in a parliament where they held the balance of power.<ref>The Forward View</ref>
In October 1930 she was the prospective Liberal candidate for Winchester for the general election. However the prospective Liberal candidate for Basingstoke withdrew just before the 1931 election. As Basingstoke was regarded as a better prospect, she switched constituencies. She contested Basingstoke in 1931, a seat the Liberals had won in 1923. In an unfavourable year for the Liberals, she retained second place.
She became Honorary Secretary of the National League of Young Liberals,<ref>The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1935</ref> and a vice-chairman. In October 1933 she was still the prospective Liberal candidate for Basingstoke. However, a vacancy occurred in the more winnable division of Devizes and by October 1935 she had been adopted there. She contested Devizes in 1935, a seat the Liberals last won in 1923 and nearly re-gained in 1929. She managed to reduce the Tory majority.
She was re-adopted by Devizes Liberals as their prospective parliamentary candidate for a General Election expected to occur in 1939/40.<ref>The Liberal Magazine, 1939</ref> In 1938-39 she served as Chairman of the National League of Young Liberals. In 1938 she advocated that all countries colonies should be handed over to the League of Nations and run through a colonial service as a first step on a path to independence.<ref>The Liberal Magazine 1938</ref> In May 1939 she condemned the Chamberlain Government's betrayal of the democracies of Spain and Czechoslovakia.<ref>The Liberal Magazine 1939</ref> In 1939 she became President of the National League of Young Liberals, serving through the Second world War.<ref>The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1950</ref> In the early 1940s, she was an advocate of global federalism.[http://www.thefederalist.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25:i-movimenti-mondialisti-dal-1945-al-1954-e-lintegrazione-europea&catid=2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720172917/http://www.thefederalist.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25:i-movimenti-mondialisti-dal-1945-al-1954-e-lintegrazione-europea&catid=2 |date=20 July 2011 }} She served as Chairman of the Federal Union from 1941–45. She edited the group's paper, ''Federal News'', from 1944–6. She contested Devizes again in 1945. With the country swinging to Labour, she dropped to third place.
Josephy was an advocate of both European and World Federalism. In 1947 at the first World Federalism Congress, she said, “Being British, I am not particularly interested in theory and not at all in philosophy,” and noted that if world government did not happen soon, it never would. She later worked at the Assembly of the Western European Union, which existed to develop a common defence policy for Europe.<ref>The New Statesman, 22 Oct 2015</ref> She was also a member of the European Union of Federalists' central committee from 1946 until her death. In 1949 she attended the European Assembly at Strasbourg as an observer.<ref>The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1950</ref> She was a member of the Liberal party national executive. She contested Cambridge in 1950. This was not a good prospect for the Liberals as they had not contested the seat since 1934 and had not won since 1906.
She contested Cambridge again in 1951.
From the mid-1950s, she worked as a reviser for the Assembly of Western European Union in Paris for nine years. ===Electoral record=== {{Election box begin| |title=1928 London County Council election: St Marylebone<ref>{{cite news |title=LCC Election: Full results of polling |work=The Times |date=10 March 1928}}</ref> }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party=Municipal Reform Party |candidate='''Ernest Sanger''' |votes=9,029 |percentage= |change= }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party=Municipal Reform Party |candidate='''Adeline Mary Roberts''' |votes=8,988 |percentage= |change= }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party=Labour Party (UK) |candidate=Nils Henry Moller |votes=2,319 |percentage= |change= }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party=Labour Party (UK) |candidate=Lillian Augusta Dawson |votes=2,310 |percentage= |change= }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party=Liberal Party (UK) |candidate=Harcourt Johnstone |votes=1,514 |percentage= |change=n/a }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party=Liberal Party (UK) |candidate='''Frances Louise Josephy''' |votes=1,431 |percentage= |change=n/a }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party=Independent (politician) |candidate=John Struthers |votes=88 |percentage= |change=n/a }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner=Municipal Reform Party |swing= }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner=Municipal Reform Party |swing= }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin | |title=General election 1929: Winchester <ref name="ReferenceC">British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link| |party = Unionist Party (UK) |candidate = George Richard James Hennessy |votes = 17,560 |percentage = 44.8 |change = −12.4 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Robert Arthur Lyster |votes = 14,326 |percentage = 36.6 |change = +5.3 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate ='''Frances Louise Josephy''' |votes = 7,278 |percentage = 18.6 |change = +7.1 }} {{Election box majority| |votes = 3,234 |percentage = 8.2 |change = −17.7 }} {{Election box turnout| |votes = 39,164 |percentage = 74.6 |change = +2.8 }} {{Election box registered electors| |reg. electors = 52,522 }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner = Unionist Party (UK) |swing = −8.9 }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin| |title=General Election 1931: Basingstoke }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = Viscount Lymington |votes = 23,523 |percentage = 69.7 |change =+19.3 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = '''Frances Louise Josephy''' |votes = 6,106 |percentage = 18.1 |change =-17.3 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate =Charles Alexander Goatcher |votes = 4,124 |percentage = 12.2 |change =-2.0 }} {{Election box majority| |votes = 17,417 |percentage = 51.6 |change =+36.6 }} {{Election box turnout| |votes =33,753 |percentage = 67.44 |change =-6.8 }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing =+18.3 }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin| |title=General Election 1935: Devizes }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = Sir Percy Angier Hurd |votes = 14,438 |percentage = 59.32 |change =-6.95 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = '''Frances Louise Josephy''' |votes = 9,903 |percentage = 40.68 |change =+6.95 }} {{Election box majority| |votes = 4,535 |percentage = 18.64 |change =-13.90 }} {{Election box turnout| |votes =24,341 |percentage = 72.20 |change = }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing =-6.95 }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin| |title=General Election 1945: Devizes }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = Maurice Christopher Hollis |votes = 12,796 |percentage = 47.0 |change =-12.3 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Wilfrid Edward Cave |votes = 8,120 |percentage = 29.9 |change =n/a }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = '''Frances Louise Josephy''' |votes = 6,278 |percentage = 23.1 |change =-17.6 }} {{Election box majority| |votes = 4,676 |percentage = 17.2 |change =-1.5 }} {{Election box turnout| |votes =27,194 |percentage = 67.6 |change =-4.6 }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing =n/a }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin| title=General Election 1950: Cambridge }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = Hamilton William Kerr |votes = 25,151 |percentage = 49.51 |change =+0.39 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Arthur Leslie Symonds |votes = 20,297 |percentage = 39.95 |change =-10.93 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = '''Frances Louise Josephy''' |votes = 5,355 |percentage = 10.54 |change =n/a }} {{Election box majority| |votes = 4,854 |percentage = 9.56 |change = }} {{Election box turnout| |votes = 50,83 |percentage = 86.48 |change =+17.32 }} {{Election box gain with party link| |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |loser = Labour Party (UK) |swing =+5.66 }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin| title=General Election 1951: Cambridge }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate =Hamilton William Kerr |votes = 26,570 |percentage = 52.39 |change =+2.88 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Arthur Leslie Symonds |votes = 20,893 |percentage = 41.19 |change =+1.24 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = '''Frances Louise Josephy''' |votes = 3,257 |percentage = 6.42 |change =-4.12 }} {{Election box majority| |votes = 5,677 |percentage = 11.19 |change =+1.64 }} {{Election box turnout| |votes = 50,720 |percentage = 84.44 |change =-2.04 }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing =+0.82 }} {{Election box end}}
== Travel Photography == Frances Josephy (or ‘Jo’ Josephy to her friends) was an avid amateur photographer who travelled extensively and documented her trips using 35mm slide film. Her slide collection was donated to the National Art Slide Library (NASL) at the Victoria & Albert Museum by a Miss M H Borman, the executor of Josephy's estate, in 1987.<ref>Acquisition papers and related correspondence in the Josephy Collection at De Montfort University, Special Collections and Archive</ref> The collection boasts approximately 3,400 slides and documents Josephy’s travels over a span of twenty years (from 1956-1976) and over 20 different countries.
The NASL collection later moved to Leicester Polytechnic, now De Montfort University, in the 1990s.
==External links== *1929 Josephy Election Leaflet: http://www.gophoto.it/view.php?i=http://lib-1.lse.ac.uk/archivesblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Josephy_leaflet1.jpg#.UmPBjxDOS2Y *[http://archives.lse.ac.uk/TreeBrowse.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&field=RefNo&key=JOSEPHY Catalogue of the Frances Josephy papers held at LSE Archives] *[https://eobject.dmu.ac.uk/Library/Special%20Collections/Student_Articles/content/#/lessons/PqEQcbvPqMxsbdiD8BNq-e-ALUWLfLT1 The Josephy Travel Slide Collection] ==References== {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Josephy, Frances}} Category:1900 births Category:1984 deaths Category:People from Broughty Ferry Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews Category:Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Category:Politicians from Dundee Category:20th-century Scottish politicians Category:Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates