Beresford Richards was a politician in Manitoba, Canada.
21 Facts About Beresford Richards
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Beresford Richards served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1943 to 1949.
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Richards's father, Beresford Walter Richards, was a member of the Canadian Authors' Association.
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The younger Richards came to Canada in 1921, and was educated in Athabaska, Alberta and at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering.
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Beresford Richards was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a by-election held in The Pas on August 17,1943, to replace former premier John Bracken after the latter's move to federal politics.
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The CCF was the dominant opposition party in Manitoba during this period, and Beresford Richards sat with his party on the opposition benches.
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Beresford Richards was a charismatic personality, known for a powerful debating style and flamboyant manner of dressing.
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Beresford Richards was appointed to the provincial CCF executive as the party's chief organizer, and built a powerful constituency base within the party.
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Beresford Richards was a maverick on the left-wing of the CCF, and the similarity of his views with those of the communist Labor-Progressive Party made him many enemies in his own party.
10.
Stanley Knowles accused Beresford Richards of holding Communist sympathies at party gathering, and Beresford Richards was deliberately left uninformed of executive meetings.
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Beresford Richards later claimed that the party leadership had been "embarking on a right wing course" by its actions during this period.
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Beresford Richards convinced the local CCF organization not to field a candidate against him, and was re-elected over Progressive Conservative candidate Robert Milton by 81 votes.
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Beresford Richards wrote a conciliatory appeal to the Manitoba CCF after the election, and asked for reinstatement.
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Beresford Richards continued to support cooperation among left parties and to advocate friendly relations with the Soviet Union, but he avoided open criticism of the party leadership.
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Beresford Richards was nominated from the convention floor for the leadership of the Manitoba CCF in 1948, following the resignation of Seymour Farmer the previous year, but declined to run and Edwin Hansford was elected the new party leader without opposition.
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Beresford Richards again ran as an "Independent CCF" candidate in the 1949 election, and was again endorsed by the local CCF association.
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Beresford Richards quietly rejoined the CCF in the 1950s, but never again sought provincial or federal office.
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Berry Beresford Richards' defection from the CCF was a matter of great regret to many people.
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Beresford Richards had made friends among the membership and the highly regarded as an organizer, particularly in the rural areas.
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Beresford Richards was clever, quick in debate, young and handsome, attractive to both men and women; if he had been able to adhere to CCF policy he undoubtedly would have become provincial leader.
21.
Beresford Richards returned to his profession as a mining engineer after leaving politics.