Joseph Kenworthy, 10th Baron Strabolgi

Joseph Montague Kenworthy, 10th Baron Strabolgi (7 March 1886 – 8 October 1953), was a Liberal and then a Labour Party Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom.

Education and naval service Strabolgi was born at Leamington in Warwickshire and educated at the Eastman's Royal Naval Academy at Northward Park in Winchester and as a cadet on H.M.S. Britannia, joining the Royal Navy in 1901 and served for seventeen years. His first posting as a naval cadet was in January 1903 to the battleship HMS Goliath, serving on the China Station. During World War I, he was in command of the destroyer until October 1915, then served aboard the battleship . For a short period (August to December 1917), he was assigned to the Operations and later, Plans Division of the Admiralty War Staff. He left for an appointment in the Mediterranean which enabled him to see the latest developments of war on seaborne commerce at close quarters. He returned to the Grand Fleet in time to be present at the final surrender of German sea power. He retired from the Navy in 1920 after entering Parliament.

Politician Kenworthy first tried to enter Parliament at the 1918 general election contesting Rotherham as a Liberal but finished in third place. He was soon given another chance though when he was selected to contest Central Hull at a by-election in 1919. Anti-Coalition government sentiment was riding high and he was duly elected Member of Parliament for the Liberals. Kenworthy was one of the more energetic supporters of H. H. Asquith in Parliament and never lost his hostility to Lloyd George. During the 1924-29 parliament which was dominated by a Conservative majority, he worked closely with a group of radical Liberal MPs that included: William Wedgwood Benn, Percy Harris, Frank Briant and Horace Crawfurd to provide opposition to the government. When Lloyd George became Leader of the Liberal Party in 1926, despite the party taking on a more radical hue, Kenworthy resigned from the party and joined Labour. He also resigned his seat in the House of Commons and fought and won a by-election in Central Hull, standing for Labour. He retained the seat until 1931.

He was an active supporter of the movement for the independence of India. In 1934, he succeeded his father as Lord Strabolgi and was the opposition chief whip in the House of Lords from 1938 to 1942. He was disappointed not to be given a position in the postwar Labour government (1945–51).

Personal life Lord Strabolgi married twice. Firstly, in 1913, he married Doris Whitley, daughter of his fellow Liberal MP, Frederick Whitley-Thomson. They had four children, and divorced in 1941. Later that year, he married Geraldine Francis.

When he died in 1953 aged 67, he was succeeded by his eldest son, David Montague de Burgh Kenworthy, 11th Baron Strabolgi, another left-wing politician and member of the Labour Party.

Writer During World War II, he wrote numerous articles on the war, especially the war at sea. These include Secret Weapons in Modern World (27 April 1940) and What's Wrong with the British Army? in Colliers magazine (22 August 1942).

Books by Lord Strabolgi His books include – Peace or war? (with a foreword by H. G. Wells, Boni & Liveright, New York, 1927) India, A Warning (E. Mathews & Marrot, London, 1931) The Campaign in the Low Countries: the first full-length account of the epic struggle in Holland and Belgium (London 1940) The Battle of the River Plate (Hutchinson & Co., London, 1940) Freedom of the Seas (jointly with Sir George Young) Our Daily Pay: the Economics of Plenty Sailors, Statesmen and Others: an Autobiography The Real Navy Narvik and After From Gibraltar to Suez: a study of the Italian Campaign Singapore and After Sea Power in the Second World War

Appointments Chairman of the English-Speaking Union Vice-president of The Air League of The British Empire