Reginald Logan Rait

Reginald Logan Rait (January 1902 – 1975), was a British Pattenmaker and Liberal Party politician. He was notable for being the youngest candidate to stand at the 1923 UK General Election.

Reginald Rait

Background

He was born in Kingston, Surrey[1] to George Logan Rait and Alice Heleanor Rait.[2] He was educated at Charterhouse School, Godalming and University College, Oxford. He lived in Surbiton Hill, Surrey.[3]

Political career

In 1922 Rait was an Oxford delegate on Hungarian self-determination at Budapest. He was Liberal candidate for the Isle of Thanet division of Kent at the 1923 General Election. He was aged 21, the youngest candidate in the country.[4] The constituency had returned a Unionist candidate at every election since it was created in 1885. Rait came to within 48 votes of taking the seat and recorded the highest percentage poll for a Liberal candidate in the constituency;

General Election 1923: Isle of Thanet[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Esmond Cecil Harmsworth 13,821 50.1 -11.1
Liberal Reginald Logan Rait 13,773 49.9 +11.1
Majority 48 0.2 -22.2
Turnout 69.5 +1.1
Unionist hold Swing -11.1

After the election in February 1924 he was re-adopted as prospective Liberal candidate for the Isle of Thanet.[6] However, he did not contest the seat at the following general election in October 1924. He did not stand for parliament again.[7]

Professional career

He was a Pattenmaker. In 1958 he was Master of the livery of the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers.[8]

He died in London, in 1975 at the age of 73.[9]

References
  1. ancestry.co.uk
  2. http://www.myheritage.com
  3. The Liberal Yearbook - 1926
  4. The Illustrated London News 1 Dec 1923
  5. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  6. Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald, Kent, 23 February 1924
  7. British parliamentary election results 1918-1983, Craig, F.W.S.
  8. http://www.pattenmakers.co.uk
  9. ancestry.co.uk
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.