Bill Pitt (politician)
| William Henry Pitt | |
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Member of Parliament for Croydon North West |
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In office 22 October 1981 – 9 June 1983 |
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| Preceded by | Robert Taylor |
| Succeeded by | Humfrey Malins |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
17 July 1937 Croydon, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Other political affiliations |
Liberal Party (-1988), Liberal Democrats (1988-1996) |
| Alma mater | South Bank Polytechnic |
William Henry Pitt (born 17 July 1937) is a British politician. He was a Liberal Member of Parliament between 1981 and 1983, and was the first candidate elected to Parliament under the banner of the SDP-Liberal Alliance.
Pitt was born on Brixton Hill South London in 1937 later moving to Croydon and attended Heath Clark School there, followed by the London Nautical School and South Bank Polytechnic. After National Service in the Royal Army Service Corps, he became a lighting engineer. His initial alliance in politics was with the Conservatives and he was Chairman of South Norwood Young Conservatives in 1959–60. However he joined the Liberal Party in the 1960s.
In the 1970s, Pitt worked as a local government officer for the London Borough of Lambeth. He stood as Liberal candidate for Croydon North West in February obtaining a creditable 25% of the vote. He stood again in October 1974 but in this election his vote, like that of most Liberal Candidates, fell. In the 1979 general election he, like 60% of candidates in London and 50% overall, lost his deposit. He was, however, popular within the party and served as Chairman of the London Liberal Party and as a member of the Liberal Party National Executive Committee and the Party Council from 1977 till 1981.
When the sitting Conservative MP for his seat died, Pitt was quickly chosen as the prospective Liberal candidate for the seat. As a bearded local government officer, he looked more representative of the old Liberal Party rather than the new Social Democratic Party which was in alliance with it. The choice of Pitt as by-election candidate was resisted by some senior members of the party who were keen to give the SDP a chance to win its first Parliamentary election (probably with Shirley Williams as the candidate), but Pitt and the local Liberal Association were insistent and there was no way to force them to cede the candidature. He had "nursed" the seat since 1974 and was the approved Candidate at National, Regional and Local level. Considerable pressure was put on the CNW Committee, especially on Alan Mead—Chairman at the time—who was also at the time Chair of Croydon CHE (which prompted a Guardian Newspaper item entitled "the queering of Croydon"), as well as the Regional Party. The Liberal Party Council of 17 July 1981 further endorsed Pitt and thus put an end to any speculation or manipulation.
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