# John Pratt (Liberal politician)

Sir John William Pratt (9 September 1873 – 27 October 1952), was a Scottish Liberal Party politician.
Pratt was Warden of Glasgow University Settlement, 1902–12 and was a Member of Glasgow Town Council, 1906. At the start of his political career he was a Fabian.
Pratt entered Parliament for Linlithgowshire in a 1913 by-election, a seat he held until 1918, and then represented Glasgow Cathcart until 1922. He served in the coalition government of David Lloyd George as a Junior Lord of the Treasury from 1916 to 1919 and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health for Scotland from 1919 to 1922. He was knighted in the 1922 Dissolution Honours.
Pratt did not contest the general election of the same year. At the 1923 General election he sought a return to parliament but narrowly failed to re-gain Dundee for the Liberals. He then contested the 1924 Glasgow Kelvingrove by-election without success. He did not contest the 1924 General Election. At the 1929 General Election, he stood for the Liberals at Sunderland without success. At the 1931 General Election, he stood for the New Party at Manchester Hulme, again without success.
Pratt died in October 1952, aged 79.

## Electoral record

1913 Linlithgowshire by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John William Pratt | 5,615 | 52.4 | −8.4 |
| | Unionist | James Kidd | 5,094 | 47.6 | +8.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 521 | 4.8 | −16.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,709 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -8.4 | |
General election 1918: Glasgow Cathcart :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John William Pratt | 16,310 | 78.4 | N/A |
| | Labour | Gavin Brown Clark | 4,489 | 21.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,821 | 56.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,799 | | N/A |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
General election 1923: Dundee (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Scottish Prohibition | Edwin Scrymgeour | 25,753 | 25.1 | −2.5 |
| | Labour | Edmund Dene Morel | 23,345 | 22.7 | −2.9 |
| | Liberal | Sir John William Pratt | 23,031 | 22.4 | +16.7 |
| | Unionist | Frederick William Wallace | 20,253 | 19.7 | n/a |
| | Communist | William Gallacher | 10,380 | 10.1 | +5.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,722 | 2.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 314 | 0.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 72.5 | −8.0 |
| | Scottish Prohibition hold | Scottish Prohibition hold | Swing | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
1924 Glasgow Kelvingrove by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Unionist | Walter Elliot Elliot | 15,488 | 55.3 |
| | Labour | Aitken Ferguson | 11,167 | 39.8 |
| | Liberal | Sir John William Pratt | 1,372 | 4.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,321 | 15.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 70.5 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | |
General election 1929: Sunderland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Marion Phillips | 31,794 | 19.5 | +0.2 |
| | Labour | Alfred Smith | 31,085 | 19.0 | −0.3 |
| | Unionist | Sir Walter Raine | 29,180 | 17.9 | −7.4 |
| | Unionist | Luke Thompson | 28,937 | 17.7 | −7.7 |
| | Liberal | Elizabeth Trebelle Morgan | 21,300 | 13.0 | −4.8 |
| | Liberal | Sir John William Pratt | 21,142 | 12.9 | +0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,905 | 1.1 | 7.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 81.1 | −3.5 |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | | |
General election 1931: Manchester, Hulme :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Sir Joseph Nall | 25,185 | 70.0 |
| | Labour | Andrew McElwee | 9,219 | 25.6 |
| | New Party | Sir John William Pratt | 1,565 | 4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,966 | 44.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,969 | 73.02 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | |