Radical causes Wilson's political interests were born of the radical and dissenting tradition he inherited from his father and the Wilson family's
Victorian dedication to public service and devotion to civic duty. His causes included the
temperance movement, opposition to the state regulation of
vice,
non-sectarian education,
Disestablishment of the
Anglican Church,
Irish Home Rule,
internationalism,
Anti-imperialism and the destruction of the
Opium trade.
Sheffield Reform Association In March 1873, Wilson and his supporters formed a rival political organisation, the Sheffield Reform Association with the aim of promoting a more radical Liberal voice in the city and in the hope of getting a candidate sympathetic to these progressive causes elected to Parliament. This campaign seemed to about the bear fruit just before the
1874 general election. Impressed with the radical tone he was hearing from the newly elected
Mayor of
Birmingham Joseph Chamberlain, Wilson invited Chamberlain to try his luck as a candidate in Sheffield. But the election was a shambles from a Liberal perspective as four men were nominated for the two seats to be contested. Chamberlain came third after a bitter campaign in which dead cats were thrown at him on the hustings.
Liberal MP Perhaps the divisions of 1874 opened Wilson's eyes to the need for Liberal unity, perhaps made easier by the resignation of
Mr Gladstone from the leadership of the Party in 1875. In that year Wilson became Secretary of the Sheffield Liberal Association, From this more mainstream base, Wilson was selected to stand as Liberal candidate for
Holmfirth in the
West Riding of Yorkshire at the
1885 general election. Amongst his rivals for the nomination was former Liberal MP
Frederick Beaumont . He won the Holmfirth seat with 6% of the poll and then held it against all-comers at each subsequent election until he resigned in 1912. His successor at the subsequent
by-election was
Sydney Arnold. ==Offices and appointments==