Richard Acland
| Sir Richard Acland, Bt | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
26 November 1906 Broadclyst, Devon |
| Died | 24 November 1990 (aged 83) |
| Title | Acland Baronetcy of Columb John |
| Term | 9 June 1939 – 24 November 1990 |
| Predecessor | Francis, 14th Baronet |
| Successor | John, 16th Baronet |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Stella Alford |
| Parent(s) | Francis Acland |
Sir Richard Thomas Dyke Acland, 15th Baronet (26 November 1906 – 24 November 1990) was one of the founding members of the British Common Wealth Party. He had previously been a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and joined the Labour Party in 1945. He was one of the founders of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
Acland was the eldest son of Sir Francis Dyke Acland, 14th Baronet, a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and Eleanor Margaret Cropper. Born on 26 November 1906 at Broadclyst, Devon, he was educated at Rugby School and Balliol College, Oxford, before becoming a barrister (admitted at the Inner Temple in 1930). He served as a lieutenant in the Royal Devon Yeomanry.
Acland stood for Parliament without success for Torquay at the 1929 general election. He was elected Liberal MP for Barnstaple at the 1935 election, having first contested the seat in the 1931 general election. He was a junior whip for the Liberals. He helped launch the Popular Front in December 1936. His politics changed course subsequently, as seen in the various pamphlets he wrote, and in 1942 he broke from the Liberals to found the socialist Common Wealth Party with J. B. Priestley and Tom Wintringham, opposing the coalition between the major parties. He advocated public land ownership and in 1944 he gave his West Country estates at Killerton in Devon and Holnicote in Somerset to the National Trust partly out of principle and also to ensure their preservation intact.
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