Background
James Chuter Chuter-Ede was born on 11 September 1882 in Epsom, Surrey, the son of James Ede, a grocer, and Agnes Mary Chuter.
James Chuter Chuter-Ede was born on 11 September 1882 in Epsom, Surrey, the son of James Ede, a grocer, and Agnes Mary Chuter.
He was educated at Epsom National School, Dorking High School, Battersea Pupil Teachers’ Centre, and then at Christ’s College, Cambridge, for which he had won a scholarship. However, he could not afford to complete his degree and he moved on to become an assistant master in various elementary schools in Surrey until 1914.
During World War I, he served as a sergeant in the East Surreys and Royal Engineers. Also during the war, he became a staunch Labour supporter, and in 1918 he stood as Labour candidate for the parliamentary division of Epsom. He lost this election but became Labour M.P. for Mitcham in 1923, following a parliamentary by-election; he did not retain this seat for long, losing it in the general election of December 1923. He returned to Parliament in 1929, as Labour M.P. for South Shields, holding the seat until Labour’s heavy political defeat in 1931. However, he was again Labour’s M.P. for South Shields from 1935 to 1964.
It was during World War II that Chuter-Ede first obtained ministerial experience. Between 1940 and 1945 he was parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Education in Sir Winston Churchill’s wartime administration.
While serving in the Attlee governments, Ede also became deputy leader of the Labour Party, effectively deputy prime minister, in 1947, and was for a few months in 1951 the leader of the House of Commons. The defeat of the Labour government of 1951 brought his ministerial career to an end. He died on 11 November 1965.
Although most political commentators today would not rank Chuter-Ede among the truly great political figures of the twentieth century, he is generally held in high regard for his performance as home secretary and his role in restricting capital punishment.