# Samuel Galbraith

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Liberal party politician and trade unionist

For the Scottish Labour Party politician, see [Sam Galbraith](/source/Sam_Galbraith).

Galbraith in the 1900s

**Samuel Galbraith** JP OBE (4 July 1853 – 10 April 1936) was a [Liberal Party](/source/Liberal_Party_(UK)) politician and Trade Unionist in the United Kingdom.

## Background

Galbraith was born in Ballydrain, [Comber](/source/Comber), [Ulster](/source/Ulster), a son of Samuel Galbraith. He was self educated.[1] In 1886, he married Helen King Petty. In 1917 he was awarded the [Order of the British Empire](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire).[2]

## Career

Galbraith started work as a checkweighman at Browney colliery.[3] He worked as a Miners' Agent from 1900 to 1915. He became a Secretary of the [Durham Miners' Association](/source/Durham_Miners'_Association).[4]

## Politics

Galbraith was an elected member of [Durham County Council](/source/Durham_County_Council) from 1888 to 1900 and an appointed [Alderman](/source/Alderman) from 1900 to 1936. He was elected unopposed as [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament) (MP) for [Mid Durham](/source/Mid_Durham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at a [by-election](/source/1915_Mid_Durham_by-election) in 1915, sponsored by the Durham Miners' Association. When that constituency was abolished for the [1918 general election](/source/1918_United_Kingdom_general_election), he was selected for the new [Spennymoor](/source/Spennymoor_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) seat and again sponsored by the Durham Miners. The Coalition Liberal Chief Whip, [Freddie Guest](/source/Freddie_Guest) regarded him as a supporter of the Coalition government. However, the Coalition government did not endorse him or his Labour opponent, but he was still easily re-elected;

General election 1918[5] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal Samuel Galbraith 9,443 53.5 n/a Labour Joseph Batey 8,196 46.5 n/a Majority 7.0 n/a Turnout 17,639 n/a Liberal hold Swing n/a

After the election he sat on the Liberal benches in opposition to the Coalition government. He did not contest any further elections, and retired from [Parliament](/source/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom) at the [1922 general election](/source/1922_United_Kingdom_general_election), aged 69.[6]

He served as a [Justice of the Peace](/source/Justice_of_the_Peace) for the County of Durham.[7]

Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by John Wilson Member of Parliament for Mid Durham 1915–1918 Constituency abolished New constituency Member of Parliament for Spennymoor 1918–1922 Succeeded by Joseph Batey

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Dod's Parliamentary Companion, 1918

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Debrett's House of Commons 1922

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** The Great Labour Unrest, Lewis H. Mates

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Pitmen Preachers and Politics by Robert Samuel Moore, Robert Moore

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** British parliamentary election results 1918-1949

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** British parliamentary election results 1918-1949

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** (1 December 2007). Galbraith, Samuel, (4 July 1853 – 10 April 1936), MP (L) Mid-Durham, 1915–18; Spennymoor Division, 1918–22. WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. Ed. Retrieved 27 Mar. 2019, from [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-209806](http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-209806).

## External links

- *[Hansard](/source/Hansard)* 1803–2005: [contributions in Parliament by Samuel Galbraith](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-samuel-galbraith)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Samuel Galbraith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Galbraith) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Galbraith?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.