Frank Raffety

File:Frank Walter Raffety.jpg

Frank Walter Raffety

Frank Walter Raffety OBE (1875 – 8 September 1946) was a British barrister and Liberal Party politician.

He was the son of Charles Walter Raffety, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and attended the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. In 1898 he was called to the bar at the Middle Temple, and practised on the Northern Circuit.

He developed an interest in politics, and became honorary secretary of the Social and Political Education League. The organisation was established to provide political education to the general public, and in particular to promote moderation over revolution. He was also an active member of the Eighty Club, an educational group within the Liberal Party.

He was selected as Liberal prospective parliamentary candidate for Stamford for a general election expected to take place in 1915.

He unsuccessfully contested the Lewisham West by-election in September 1921;

Lewisham West by-election, 1921

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Philip Dawson	9,427	38.9
		Walter George Windham	8,580	35.4
		Frank Raffety	6,211	25.6
Majority			847	3.5
Turnout			24,218	59.2
	hold		Swing	n/a

In March of the following year he was elected to the London County Council, as a (Liberal-backed) Progressive Party councillor for Islington West;

1922 London County Council election: Islington West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Henry Mills	5,903	33.6
		Frank Raffety	5,746	32.7
		P.H. Black	3,013	17.2
		G. Davison	2,894	16.5
Majority			2,733	15.5
	hold		Swing

At the general election in November 1922 he failed to win Bristol West;

General election 1922: Bristol West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		George Gibbs	18,124	62.0
		Frank Raffety	11,100	38.0
Majority			7,024	24.0
	hold		Swing	n/a

A further general election was held in 1923, and Raffety was elected Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Bath;

General election 1923: Bath

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Frank Raffety	13,694	51.6
		Charles Foxcroft	12,830	48.4
Majority			864	3.2
Turnout				79.1
	gain from		Swing	+10.7

His membership of the Commons was brief, as he was defeated when a further general election was called in 1924;

General election 1924: Bath

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Charles Foxcroft	16,067	55.8
		Frank Raffety	8,800	30.6
		Walter Barton Scobell	3,914	13.6
Majority			7,267	25.2
Turnout				84.5
	gain from		Swing	+14.2

He again stood as a Liberal candidate at Cheltenham in 1929;

General election 1929: Cheltenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Walter Preston	15,279	53.2
		Frank Raffety	8,533	29.7
		William Ramsey Piggott	4,920	17.1
Majority			6,746	23.5
Turnout				79.8
	hold		Swing	+2.8

and East Dorset in 1935, but failed to be elected;

General election 1935: Dorset East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Gordon Hall Caine	25,520	53.5
		Frank Raffety	11,349	23.8
		Edward Joseph Stocker	10,823	22.7
Majority			14,171	29.7
Turnout			47,692	74.4
	hold		Swing	+12.8

Raffety remained active in Liberal party politics, as a speaker. He became the Chairman of the Industrial Co-Partnership Association. In 1943 he was granted the freedom of the borough of High Wycombe, of which he had been honorary recorder since 1905. In 1945 he was made an Officer of the Order of British Empire.

He died at his home in Bramley, Surrey in August 1946, aged 71.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Frank Walter Raffety