Reginald Sorensen, Baron Sorensen facts for kids

Reginald William Sorensen, Baron Sorensen (born June 19, 1891 – died October 8, 1971) was a Unitarian minister and a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for more than thirty years. He served in the House of Commons from 1929 to 1931, and again from 1935 to 1964. Later, he became a member of the House of Lords.

Early Life and Work

Reginald Sorensen was born in Islington, north London, on June 19, 1891. He was the oldest of five children. His father, William James Sorensen, was a silversmith with a Danish background. His mother, Alice Jemima, was the daughter of a fisherman from Worthing, Sussex.

Reginald left school when he was fourteen years old. He then worked in different jobs. He was an errand-boy, a factory worker, and later worked in a shop.

Political Journey

Standing Up for Peace

During the First World War, Reginald Sorensen was a religious minister. This meant he did not have to join the military. He also declared himself a pacifist, meaning he believed all war was wrong.

Local Government Roles

From 1921 to 1924, Sorensen was a member of the Walthamstow urban district council. He led the education committee during this time. In 1924, he was elected as an Essex county councillor. He continued in this role until 1945.

Becoming an MP

Reginald Sorensen first tried to become an MP in 1923 in Southampton, but he did not win. He also ran in a special election in Lowestoft in 1934, but lost.

He was first elected as an MP for Leyton West in the 1929 general election. He won against the Conservative MP James Cassels. However, in the 1931 election, he lost his seat.

Sorensen won back the Leyton West seat in the 1935 election. He continued to represent this area until 1950, when the constituency changed. In the 1950 general election, he became the MP for the new Leyton constituency.

Views on Imperialism and War

In 1933, Sorensen spoke out strongly against how Britain ruled its empire in India. He believed it was similar to the unfair actions of Hitler. He said that what was happening in India was as bad as what was happening to Jewish people in Germany. Sorensen led groups like the Fabian Colonial Bureau and the India League, which supported India's independence. In 1946, he visited India as part of a parliamentary group and was happy when India became independent the next year.

Sorensen was a strong pacifist and joined the Peace Pledge Union in 1936. However, when World War II started, he felt sad that peace efforts had failed. He then asked other pacifists not to stop the war effort.

Later Political Life

Reginald Sorensen was known for being a secularist, meaning he believed in separating government from religion. In the 1960s, he became a lecturer at the South Place Ethical Society.

In the 1964 general election, he was re-elected for his seventh term in the House of Commons. Soon after, on December 15, 1964, he was made a life peer. This meant he became Baron Sorensen of Leyton and could sit in the House of Lords. He suggested that the House of Lords should be replaced by a group of experts. From 1966 to 1968, he served as a Lord-in-waiting in the House of Lords.

Family Life

On January 22, 1916, Reginald Sorensen married Muriel. Her father, the Reverend William Harvey-Smith, was also a Unitarian minister. Reginald and Muriel had three children: one daughter and two sons. Sadly, one of their sons died during the Chinese revolution while working as a missionary.

Reginald Sorensen passed away on October 8, 1971, at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone. He was cremated a few days later at the City of London cemetery.