Under-fire MP sets his cap at new seat
‘Anti-war’Ponsonby unpopular in Stirling
Controversial MP for Stirling Burghs, Arthur Ponsonby, confirmed 100 years ago what had long been expected – his decision to ‘jump ship’.
Mr Ponsonby was elected as Liberal MP for the burghs in 1908 in a by-election but his constituency was wiped out following boundary changes.
In early 1918, the Observer reported the Liberal MP had “practically wiped the dust of Stirling off his feet” and was eying a newly-created constituency in Fife.
In a letter to the paper, printed in May 1918, Mr Ponsonby said he had accepted an invitation to contest the newly-formed division of Dunfermline Burghs as an Independent Democrat “free from all party ties yet ready to cooperate with those who share my unwavering belief in the great progressive principles which are the only reliable guides I have found in my political life”.
Previous stories in the Observer suggested Mr Ponsonby had become unpopular in Stirling after backing the Union of Democratic Control.
The organisation was formed in 1914 following the outbreak of the war and was opposed to military influence in government and against Britain’s involvement in World War One. While claiming not to be a pacifist organisation, it said the war was the result of secret international understandings which were not subject to democratic overview.
Many saw it as an anti-war and Mr Ponsonby’s support for the organisation attracted many critics in his constituency.
In December, 1916, he was heckled when he made a rare visit to Stirling to address a public meeting on the subject of the war at the Albert Hall.
In the his letter announcing his decision to move on, Mr Ponsonby acknowledged “serious differences of opinion have grown up between some of my former supporters and myself ”.
He insisted he had tried to do the best for constituents and added: “Never was the political future more uncertain than it is today. Old parties have broken up and new parties may be formed.”
It was, he said, a desire to remain associated with part of his old constituency that he had decided to accept the electoral offer from Fife. He thanked Stirling Burgh constituents for their kindness, tolerance, friendship and encouragement they had shown during his 10 years as Stirling Burghs MP.
However, Mr Ponsonby was to be defeated at the 1918 General Election although he returned to the House of Commons in 1922 as Labour MP for Sheffield Brightside.