Albert Victor Grayson (born 5 September 1881, disappeared 28 September 1920) was an English socialist politician of the early 20th century. An Independent Labour Party Member of Parliament from 1907 to 1910, Grayson is most notable for his sensational by-election victory at Colne Valley, and unexplained disappearance in 1920. Early years Albert Victor Grayson was born in Liverpool, the seventh son of William Grayson, a Yorkshire carpenter, and Elizabeth Craig, who was Scottish. He became an apprentice engineer in Bootle. Grayson joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and toured the country giving lectures, becoming a well-known orator despite having a stammer. In 1907 he stood as an ILP candidate in the 1907 Colne Valley by-election, having been nominated by the Colne Valley Labour League; he won a sensational, albeit narrow, victory. Grayson was paid an allowance by the ILP but refused to sign the Labour Party constitution. Grayson was subject to an amusing assessment by Winston Churchill in 1908: "The Socialism of the Christian era was based on the idea that, 'All mine is yours,' but the Socialism of Mr Grayson is based on the idea that 'All yours is mine. Writing of Grayson in 1913 in an article on British radical politics in Pravda, Vladimir Lenin noted that Grayson was "a very fiery socialist, but one not strong in principles and given to phrase-mongering." Grayson rarely attended the House of Commons and began to develop a drink problem. After losing his seat in the January 1910 general election, and failing even to retain his deposit when standing for Kennington in December 1910, he continued his lecture tours but suffered a mental breakdown in 1913 and in August 1914 was declared bankrupt with debts of £496. Grayson later alienated many of his left-wing colleagues by backing Britain's entry into World War I and turning his oratorical skills to recruiting soldiers. He enlisted in 1916 and served briefly in the New Zealand Army and was wounded the following year on the Western Front. After the war, Grayson attempted to resurrect his political career. Personal life In his early life, Grayson conducted a longterm affair with Harry Dawson, a fellow Merseyside socialist. In one of a collection of love letters written to Dawson, he wrote: "I love you as ever, with the same devouring passion and intensity and thickness." In 1912, Grayson married Ruth Nightingale, a young actress with boyish looks, with