# Frank 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 | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Philip Dawson | 9,427 | 38.9 | n/a |
| | Anti-Waste League | Walter George Windham | 8,580 | 35.4 | n/a |
| | Liberal | Frank Raffety | 6,211 | 25.6 | n/a |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 847 | 3.5 | n/a |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,218 | 59.2 | n/a |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist 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 | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressive | Henry Mills | 5,903 | 33.6 |
| | Progressive | Frank Raffety | 5,746 | 32.7 |
| | Labour | P.H. Black | 3,013 | 17.2 |
| | Labour | G. Davison | 2,894 | 16.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,733 | 15.5 |
| | Progressive hold | Progressive hold | Swing | |
At the general election in November 1922 he failed to win Bristol West;
General election 1922: Bristol West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | George Gibbs | 18,124 | 62.0 | n/a |
| | Liberal | Frank Raffety | 11,100 | 38.0 | n/a |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,024 | 24.0 | n/a |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist 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 | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Frank Raffety | 13,694 | 51.6 | +19.6 |
| | Unionist | Charles Foxcroft | 12,830 | 48.4 | −1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 864 | 3.2 | 21.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 79.1 | −3.3 |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | 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 | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Charles Foxcroft | 16,067 | 55.8 | +7.4 |
| | Liberal | Frank Raffety | 8,800 | 30.6 | −21.0 |
| | Labour | Walter Barton Scobell | 3,914 | 13.6 | +13.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,267 | 25.2 | 28.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 84.5 | +5.4 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +14.2 | |
He again stood as a Liberal candidate at Cheltenham in 1929;
General election 1929: Cheltenham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Walter Preston | 15,279 | 53.2 | +3.7 |
| | Liberal | Frank Raffety | 8,533 | 29.7 | −2.0 |
| | Labour | William Ramsey Piggott | 4,920 | 17.1 | −1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,746 | 23.5 | +5.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 79.8 | −0.5 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +2.8 | |
and East Dorset in 1935, but failed to be elected;
General election 1935: Dorset East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gordon Hall Caine | 25,520 | 53.5 | +9.0 |
| | Liberal | Frank Raffety | 11,349 | 23.8 | −16.6 |
| | Labour | Edward Joseph Stocker | 10,823 | 22.7 | +14.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,171 | 29.7 | +25.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,692 | 74.4 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative 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.