Thomas Robinson (Stretford politician)

Sir Thomas Robinson KBE JP (2 January 1863 – 30 December 1953) was an English industrialist, Liberal politician and Member of Parliament, who late in his career sat in the House of Commons as an Independent.

He was born at King Street, Stretford, Manchester. He was the sixth child of Peter Robinson, a farm labourer/lamplighter, and Eliza (née Owen).

He was married twice. First, to Emma Lowe of Stratford in January 1887, and second, in November 1936 he married Emmeline Mary Standring, also of Stretford. He had no children from either marriage. In religion he was an independent Methodist.

Robinson had interests in the dyeing trade, which had strong connections to the Lancashire textile industry. He was a director of the Bradford Dyers Association Ltd and Chairman of the Allied Trades, Bleaching, Dyeing and Printing Industries of Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire. He also held appointments as the nominee of the Federation of British Industries. He was instrumental, together with ICI, in the design and development of the nylon/polyester futuristic spun fabric "MORADA" which proved ideal for lining garments. It is estimated that around 1,700,000,000 garments were made with linings sold under the brand name Morada. He provided essential initial funding to build the first Maternity Hospital in Stretford.

Robinson was mostly identified with the Liberal Party, but was successful in Parliamentary politics through a Liberal-Conservative pact and stood under the title Independent Free Trade and Anti-Socialist. He was always identified by the Liberal Party as a representative of the party, even at the 1924 general election, when he chose to describe himself as a Constitutionalist. The Constitutionalist label was one used by a number of candidates; many were Liberals or ex-Liberals like Winston Churchill. The Constitutionalists did not function as a party but fielded candidates in 1924 in constituencies where local Conservative and Liberal Associations collaborated against socialism. Many ended up in the Conservative Party, but Robinson preferred to continue to receive the Liberal whip up until the 1929 general election, when he stood formally as an Independent.

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