# Harold Baker (politician)

Harold Trevor Baker PC (22 January 1877 – 12 July 1960) was a British scholar, barrister, and Liberal politician.

## Early life

Baker was born on Portsea Island, the son of Louisa and Sir John Baker, MP for Portsmouth. He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford. He received the Gaisford Prize in 1899. He was also a Craven Scholar, Hertford Scholar and an Eldon Scholar. He was President of the Oxford Union in the Michaelmas term of 1900.

## Career

Baker was Called to the Bar from the Inner Temple in 1903. He was Secretary to the Royal Commission on War Stores in South Africa.
Baker was elected to the House of Commons for Accrington in the January 1910 general election. He served in the Liberal administration of H. H. Asquith as Financial Secretary to the War Office from 1912 to 1914 and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1915. During the European War that broke out in 1914 he was a Member of His Majesty's Army Council, and in 1916 he became Inspector of Quartermaster-General Services.
Baker was one of the few Liberal MPs of his day who were opposed to granting the vote to women.
He was defeated at the 1918 general election, when he faced both a Labour opponent as well as a Coalition government backed Unionist. He tried to win his seat back in 1922 but finished third. He did not stand for parliament again.
While in parliament and out of it, Baker continued with his career as a barrister. In 1933 he became a Fellow of Winchester College and was its Warden from 1936 to 1946.

## Personal life

Baker never married. By his affair with Lady Gwendoline Bertie, the wife of Jack Churchill, he was the father of Clarissa Eden.

## Electoral record

General election January 1910: Accrington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Harold Baker | 8,968 | 58.1 | +1.3 |
| | Conservative | Albert Henry Jessel | 6,455 | 41.9 | n/a |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,513 | 16.2 | −2.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 15,423 | 94.6 | +11.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,297 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | n/a | |
General election December 1910: Accrington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Harold Baker | 8,129 | 55.7 | −2.4 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Gray | 6,461 | 44.3 | +2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,668 | 11.4 | −4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,590 | 89.5 | −5.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,297 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −2.4 | |
General election 14 December 1918: Accrington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Ernest Gray | 13,808 | 47.2 | +2.9 |
| | Liberal | Harold Baker | 8,378 | 28.6 | −27.1 |
| | Labour | Charles Roden Buxton | 6,369 | 21.7 | n/a |
| | National Democratic | William Hammond | 738 | 2.5 | n/a |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,430 | 18.6 | 30.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,555 | 69.5 | −20.0 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +15.0 | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
General election 15 November 1922: Accrington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Charles Roden Buxton | 16,462 | 44.3 | +22.6 |
| | Unionist | Ernest Gray | 11,408 | 30.6 | −16.6 |
| | Liberal | Harold Baker | 9,395 | 25.1 | −3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,054 | 13.7 | 32.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 88.7 | +19.2 |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +19.6 | |
Baker died in Winchester in July 1960, aged 83.