Arthur Richardson (5 February 1860 – 27 June 1936) was an English merchant and Liberal–Labour politician from Nottinghamshire. He sat in the House of Commons from 1906 to 1918.
Richardson was born in East Bridgford, Nottinghamshire,[1] the son of William Richardson.[2] He was educated at East Bridgford National School and then at Magnus Grammar School in Newark-on-Trent. He later became a tea merchant in the firm of Arthur Richardson and Sons.[2]
Richardson was elected at the 1906 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham South,[3] defeating the sitting Unionist MP Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck.[4] Although described as Liberal–Labour, he was not a trade union-sponsored MP, and as such not required to join the Labour Party in 1910.
Richardson held the seat until the January 1910 election, when he was defeated by Cavendish-Bentinck. He was unsuccessful when he stood again in December 1910. He returned to Parliament of the United Kingdom seven years later, when he was elected unopposed as MP for Rotherham at a by-election in February 1917 after the Liberal MP Jack Pease was elevated to the peerage. He held that seat until the 1918 general election, when he stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal Party candidate in Nottingham West.[5] He then contested the next three general elections in the Melton division of Leicestershire. After a clear defeat by the sitting Conservative Party MP Sir Charles Yate in 1922, he lost to Yate by only 44 votes in 1923, but by over 5,000 votes in 1924.[6]
Arthur Richardson died on 27 June 1936 in Edwalton, Nottingham.