Peter Wilson Raffan

Peter Wilson Raffan (1863 - June 23, 1940) was a British Liberal politician.

Raffan came from Newbridge, Monmouthshire, and in 1910 was chairman of the Monmouthshire County Council. ["Candidates and Constituencies", The Times, January 1, 1910, p.6] When a general election was called in January 1910, P W Raffan was selected as Liberal candidate for Leigh in south-west Lancashire. John Brunner, the sitting Liberal member of parliament, had chosen to stand in Northwich.

The constituency contained a large number of coalminers, and Raffan was opposed not only by the Conservatives, but by Thomas Greenall of the Labour Party, who was a leader of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners Federation. Leigh was one of the few seats where Labour and Liberals ran against each other.P F Clarke, "Lancashire and the New Liberalism", Cambridge, 1971] Raffan won the seat easily. In the Commons Raffan became secretary of the Land Values Group who sought reform in property taxation. [Avner Offer, "Property and Politics 1870 - 1914", Cambridge, 1981] He supported women's suffrage, disestablishment of the Church in Wales and the temperence movement. ["Woman suffrage", The Times, February 7, 1912, p.7] ["Welsh Disetablishment", The Times, December 19, 1911, p.4] ["Temperence Reform", The Times, February 10, 1921, p.7]

At the 1918 general election Raffan was re-elected at Leigh as a Coalition Liberal or "coupon" candidate. However he was highly critical of the coalition, and became one of the "Wee Free" group of Independent Liberals led by H H Asquith. At the 1922 election he stood unsuccesfully for election as a National Liberal at Ayr Burghs. ["Wee Free" Plans", The Times, October 21, 1922] ["The Times" List of Candidates", The Times, October 27, 1922, p.8]

At the succeeding 1923 general election he successfully contested Edinburgh North for the Liberals, unseating the Unionist MP, Patrick Johnstone Ford. He only held the seat for one year, with Johnstone regaining the seat in the 1924 general election.

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