Joseph Frederick Green

{{Short description|British politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}} {{Use British English|date=April 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Joseph Frederick Green | birth_date = 5 July 1855 | death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1932|05|01|1855|07|05}} | office = Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West | term_start = 1918 | term_end = 1922 | predecessor = Constituency established | successor = Alfred Hill | party = National Democratic and Labour Party (formerly) | other_party = Liberal Party, Independent Labour Party, Fabian Society, Social Democratic Federation, British Workers League, National Liberal Party, Conservative Party | occupation = Politician }} '''Joseph Frederick Green''' (5 July 1855 – 1 May 1932)<ref name="WW">{{Who's Who|title=Green, Joseph Frederick|id=U210398}}</ref> was a British politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1918 to 1922 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West.

==Life== He was born in London, the son of Joseph Edwin Green JP of Lloyd's of London and his wife Hannah Rosa How. He was educated at Islington Proprietary School.<ref name="WW"/> He matriculated in 1875 at St Mary Hall, Oxford;<ref>{{alox2|title=Green, Joseph Frederick}}</ref> he went on to King's College, London.<ref name="WW"/>

Green worked as a curate in his youth, but later left the church.<ref name="sdf">Martin Crick, ''The History of the Social-Democratic Federation'', p.305</ref> He became involved in politics through the Liberal Party, serving as secretary of the St George's Hanover Square Liberal Association, and on the committee of the National Liberal Club. In the 1890s, he instead joined the Independent Labour Party and the Fabian Society, serving on its executive in 1899/1900. Around this time, he also served as secretary of the International Arbitration Association, and of the Friends of Russian Freedom.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Executive Election |newspaper=Fabian News |date=April 1899}}</ref>

In the 1900s, Green joined the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), serving as its treasurer for a time. He resigned in 1911 in protest at H. M. Hyndman's calls for the Royal Navy to be enlarged. However, his views changed dramatically with the outbreak of World War I, and he joined the Socialist National Defence Committee, a pro-war split from the SDF's successor, the British Socialist Party. A supporter of Victor Fisher, he followed him into the British Workers League, before joining the National Democratic and Labour Party (NDP).<ref name="sdf" />

Standing as a candidate of the NDP, with support of the Liberal-led and Conservative-dominated coalition government, Green contested the newly created Leicester West constituency at the 1918 general election. His only opponent was the Labour Party candidate Ramsay MacDonald, a sitting MP for the two-seat Leicester constituency until it was divided for this election.

With coalition support, Green won 76% of the votes, defeating MacDonald.<ref name="craig1918-1949">{{Cite book

| title = British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 | edition = 3rd | last = Craig | first = F. W. S. | year = 1983 | author-link = F. W. S. Craig | orig-year = First published 1969 | publisher = Parliamentary Research Services | location = Chichester | page = 168 | isbn = 0-900178-06-X }}</ref> However, at the 1922 general election, without coalition support, Green stood as a National Liberal Party candidate. He won only 28.4% of the votes, and lost his seat to the Labour Party candidate Alfred Hill. Green did not stand again.<ref name="craig1918-1949" /> Instead, he joined the Conservative Party, and found work at its headquarters.<ref name="sdf" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-joseph-green | Joseph Green}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-new|constituency |reason = see Leicester}} {{s-title | title = Member of Parliament for Leicester West | years = 1918 – 1922 }} {{s-aft | after = Alfred Hill }} {{s-ppo}} {{succession box|title=President of the Social Democratic Federation|years=1903|before=F. J. Jones|after=Peter Walker}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Joseph}} Category:1855 births Category:1932 deaths Category:Conservative Party (UK) officials Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Category:National Democratic and Labour Party MPs Category:National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians Category:Social Democratic Federation members Category:UK MPs 1918–1922