James Booth (judge)

His Honour James Booth (3 May 1914 – 31 August 2000), was a British Judge and a Liberal Party politician.

Background

Booth was a son of James and Agnes Booth.[1] He was educated at Bolton School, Bolton, Lancashire and Manchester University, where he received a Bachelor of Law with Honours.[2] In 1954 he married Joyce Doreen Mather. They had two sons.[1]

Professional career

Booth qualified as a barrister and in 1936 he was call to the bar at Gray's Inn, making him Britain's youngest barrister.[1] In 1939 he became town clerk of Ossett.

World War Two

In 1941 Booth joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a Flight lieutenant.[1] He served in Northern Ireland and Iceland.[2]

Political career

Booth was Liberal candidate for the West Leeds division of West Yorkshire at the 1945 General Election. This was an unpromising seat that a Liberal had not fought since 1929. He finished third but managed to save his deposit,

Five years later he was Liberal candidate for the Darwen division of Lancashire at the 1950 general election.[2] In a difficult election for the Liberal Party he saw the Liberal vote fall from 1945, however unlike many of his colleagues elsewhere, he again managed to save his deposit. He did not stand for parliament again.[3]

Professional career

Booth returned to law and practised in Manchester. In 1967 he became Recorder of Barrow-in-Furness. In 1969 he became a Circuit Judge (formerly a County Court Judge). In 1984 he retired at the age of 70.[1]

Electoral record
General Election 1945: Leeds West[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas William Stamford 26,593 59.0 +14.7
Conservative Samuel Vyvyan Adams 12,457 27.7 -26.6
Liberal Fl-Lt. James Booth 6,008 13.3 n/a
Majority 14,136 31.4 39.9
Turnout 76.1 +5.6
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +20.0
General Election 1950:Darwen[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Robert Stanley Prescott 17,903 48.5 +7.1
Labour Ronald Haines 13,334 36.1 +1.8
Liberal James Booth 5,656 15.3 -8.9
Majority 4,569 12.4
Turnout 89.6 +6.9
Conservative hold Swing +2.6

References
  1. ‘BOOTH, His Honour James’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 7 November 2014
  2. Who's Who of 475 Liberal Candidates fighting the 1950 General Election
  3. British parliamentary election results 1950–1973, Craig, F.W.S.
  4. "Politics Resources". Election 1945. Politics Resources. 5 July 1945. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
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