Lives in Cricket No 15 - Michael Falcon

Unfortunately for Captain Falcon, the Norfolk News had viewed his prospects through rose-tinted spectacles. On the day there was a considerable swing to the Liberals, the votes being cast as follows: H.M.Seely (Liberal) 11,807 Captain M.Falcon (Conservative) 8,472 G.Hewitt (Labour) 3,530 Majority 3,335 After the result announcement, Mr Seely proposed a vote of thanks to the returning officer; Captain Falcon, in seconding, congratulated his opponent. Later he said that ‘naturally he was disappointed at the result, but he had lived long enough and knocked about the world sufficiently to know that life was full of ups and downs. Captain Falcon asked the press to say that he regrets that his efforts on behalf of the Conservative Party in East Norfolk have not met with success on this occasion. He, however, is most grateful for all the support offered to him and tenders his thanks to all those who cast their votes in his favour at the poll.’ There was a strong swing against the Conservatives across the whole of rural Norfolk. In 1922 the county returned four Conservative MPs, three Liberals and one Labour; but in 1923 only one Conservative was elected, along with three Liberal and four Labour members. To what extent Captain Falcon’s setback was due to his particular problems over free trade and tariffs rather than part of a wider political trend is unclear. The defeat did, however, more or less bring Falcon’s political career to an end. He was, perhaps, too much of a gentleman for the cut-and-thrust of politics. His campaigns were so well-mannered that the Eastern Daily Press commented favourably in both 1922 and 1923; in the House of Commons itself, he had trouble asserting himself. However he had taken and held what was a Liberal stronghold and also acquitted himself reasonably well in his duties behind the scenes at Westminster. As a member for a rural constituency he was constantly having to jockey for position, trapped between the aspirations of farmers and the demands of farm labourers. Why Falcon chose to quit politics at this point will remain forever unclear – perhaps he realised he just wasn’t ruthless enough to make an effective Member of Parliament. Careful reading of Lemmon and Smith’s Votes For Cricket reveals that, whilst there have been many members of the House of Lords who have played high-quality cricket whilst sitting in Parliament (albeit mostly in At Westminster 53