My Life

My Life - Oswald Mosley9 - Elections 1922-24ClydesidersThe ILPBirminghamMY second election in 1922 turned out to be a momentous affair for me. I had alreadypassed through the fierce storm of the Irish controversy and other parliamentarybattles already described; now I had to face the consequences. It was reckoned at thetime that the Carlton Club alone supplied over two hundred cars on polling day tosecure my defeat. Many of the big guns of the enemy were mobilised to fire in aconstituency they found conveniently close to London. Happily, I had fortified myposition with much local support. When the executive of the Harrow Associationcalled on me to toe the party line, I appealed over their heads to the rank and file ofthe Association. It was a simple device which they bitterly called the card trick. Astamped postcard was sent to each member of the Association together with mystatement of the issues involved, and he or she was invited to return the postcard tome with an affirmation of support. The postcards came back with an overwhelmingmajority in my favour. My good friend, Harry Miles, the agent, came too. Left highand dry, the executive met and adopted another Conservative candidate.We formed another and more powerful association, and I issued a five-thousand-wordelection address stating in effect that I stood on the same programme of social reformas in 1918, to which I remained true in face of the renegade conservatism which hadadded various crimes like military adventures, the Irish atrocities and profligateexpenditure to their general betrayal of the rights and the hopes of the war generation.I polled 15,290 votes to their 7,868, defeating them by nearly two to one. It was aremarkable result because I had to sustain alone the full weight and fury of theConservative assault, and Harrow was one of their traditional strongholds.I was still associated with Lord Robert Cecil at the election of 1922 and he came toHarrow to make a speech on my behalf. It was a bold and loyal undertaking for himthus to support an Independent against the official Conservative candidate in Harrow,for he remained the official candidate of the Conservative Association in Hitchin. Thesituation was further complicated by his decision unofficially to sponsor a few otherIndependent candidates, chief among them Bernard Freyberg, V.C., who gave almostas dashing a display in this election as on the field of war. Being a man of action, hedid not tamely submit to finding himself with a lack of cars on polling day, and rangup almost every taxi and hire car in the neighbourhood to employ them for thepurpose of carrying his electors to the poll. This was, of course, a major breach ofelection law of which he was superbly ignorant, and could carry severe penalties. Itwas perhaps fortunate that he was not elected, though he polled well, and the incidentpassed without notice or retribution.Before the election Lord Robert Cecil sent me to see his friend the first Lord Cowdrayin Scotland and ask him for funds to support a few Independent candidates. It was rnyfirst experience of these magnates of industry, which was repeated years later when Ivisited Lord Nuffield on similar missions. Both were generous givers, but wereconcerned to impress on the recipient that these large sums of money had not beeneasily gained. Lord Cowdray had me met on the night train and took me for a walk in138 of 424