Career
Educated at Owen"s School, Islington and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, for many years he was secretary of the National Federation of Housing Societies He joined the Labour Party soon after the First World War. At the 1945 general election he was the party"s candidate for the south London suburban constituency of Norwood. He was appointed parliamentary private secretary to the Minister of Town and Country Planning, Lewis Silkin.
Chamberlain was regarded as a "maverick" member on the left wing fringe of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
He was disciplined after voting against the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949. He also controversially accepted an invitation to visit Francoist Spain, returning with favourable reports on the régime.
He narrowly avoided de-selection prior to the 1950 general election. When the election was held he was unseated, with the Conservatives regaining the seat.