Alexander Boulton

Alexander Claude Forster Boulton (1862 – 12 March 1949) was a barrister, British Liberal Party politician, author of legal text books, and co-founder of the Atlantic Union (the pre-coursor to the English-Speaking Union).

Early life

Boulton was born at Port Hope, Canada, in 1862. He was educated at Trinity College School and Trinity College, Toronto, graduating in law in 1886. He practised at the Canadian Bar until 1891, when he settled in England after marriage and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple later that year.

During World War I (1914–18) he was a Commissioner to the Local Government Board in Lancashire under the Military Service Act of 1916, and an arbitrator under the Ministry of Munitions.

Boulton did not stand again until the 1923 general election, when he fought the Conservative-held New Forest and Christchurch division of Hampshire. The seat had not been contested in either 1918 or 1922, and in a straight contest with the sitting Conservative MP, Boulton won 46% of the votes. Boulton stood again at the 1924 general election, when a Labour candidate also contested the seat. The Conservative vote increased, while Boulton's second-placed vote was less than half the Tory total. He did not stand for Parliament again.