of Commons, 1919 he was described as a Coalition Liberal although it seems unlikely that he received the government coupon. He certainly had no Conservative opponent but he may have identified with the coalition because it had successfully prosecuted the war in which he had just served. In other sources he is described simply as a Liberal. He defeated his Labour opponent by 10,958 votes to 5,350 – a majority of 5,608. At the 1922 general election Thomson faced a National Liberal candidate, i.e. one supporting the outgoing coalition prime minister David Lloyd George but again won comfortably by 16,811 votes to 7,422 - a majority of 9,389. At the general election the following year Thomson again faced no Tory candidate and easily beat his Labour opponent by 16,837 votes to 7,413 – a majority of 9,424. The 1924 general election Thomson held his seat in the 1924 election because he was one of only a few Liberal MPs to establish a considerable personal following with his local electorate and he was well known for his many Parliamentary interventions, questions to ministers and contributions to debate in the House of Commons. While the Liberal Party nationally was experiencing electoral meltdown, Thomson enjoyed the luxury of being returned unopposed. There was a rumour circulating after the election that Thomson was to be asked to stand down and cause a by-election in Middlesbrough to make way for a return to the Commons by H H Asquith, who had lost his seat at Paisley. Thomson certainly made a hasty trip down to London immediately after the election for political meetings but he denied he had been asked to stand aside and no such by-election ever took place. Asquith was made a peer in 1925. Political position Thomson has been described by one historian as a 'right-wing Liberal who received prolonged Conservative support' Despite this he did vote with the Labour Party in Parliament from time to time. Significantly these occasions included Labour's vote of censure against the Tory administration of Stanley Baldwin in July 1925 and the Trades Union Bill in February 1927 with further support for Labour on the intimidation clauses of that Bill in May 1927. He was also in agreement with Asquith's support of the first Labour government of 1924. Thomson in December 1924, was a founding member of the 'Radical Group' of Liberal MPs. The Group was formed because