Enid Lapthorn’s father was the Liberal candidate for Portsmouth North in 1922. The party chose her to stand at Hitchin for the 1929 general election at Brotherhood Hall, Letchworth; she was described as “a good candidate in sympathy with modern movements”. It was reported that Lapthorn and her agent held an “American shower party” to open the Liberal HQ: “The premises were emptied of all furniture and guests were invited to bring any gift, from a roll-top desk to a duster.”
In 1938, she wrote to Neville Chamberlain on behalf of the Liberal women’s executive, noting that his efforts to avoid war deserved “the gratitude of the entire nation”.
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This article appears in the 26 Jul 2017 issue of the New Statesman, Summer double issue