Sir Alfred Broughton
Photograph by Bassano Ltd, 1950
Member of Parliament for Batley and Morley
In office 18 February 1949 – 2 April 1979
Preceded by	Hubert Beaumont
Succeeded by	Kenneth Woolmer
Personal details
Born	Alfred Davies Devonsher Broughton (1902-10-18)18 October 1902
Died	2 April 1979(1979-04-02) (aged 76) Batley, England
Political party	Labour
Children	2
Alma mater	Downing College, Cambridge London Hospital Medical College
Profession	Doctor

Sir Alfred Davies Devonsher Broughton (18 October 1902 – 2 April 1979) was a British Labour Party politician and doctor who was the MP for Batley and Morley from 1949 until his death.

Background

Alfred Davies Devonsher Broughton was born in 1902. His family had been doctors in Batley for decades.^[1] He was educated at Rossall School, Downing College, Cambridge and the London Hospital. He followed his family background and became a general practitioner in Batley.^[1] During World War II he worked in civil defence and in the medical branch of the Royal Air Force. He was a member of the Batley Borough Council 1946 to 1949.^[1]

Broughton was married twice, and had two children from his first marriage.^[2]

Parliamentary career

Broughton was Member of Parliament for Batley and Morley from a 1949 by-election.^[2] He was an opposition whip in 1960.^[2] Broughton became increasingly ill from bronchitis throughout the 1970s, spending much of the time living in hospital in Yorkshire.^[2] The fact that the Labour government's majority had been lost meant that his treatment was often disrupted so that he could be taken down to London to be 'nodded through' to win key votes.^[3] He had considered resigning due to his health, but ultimately decided against it, as some in the party were unsure if Labour could defend the seat in a by-election.^[3][2]

1979 no confidence vote and death

On 28 March 1979, the government faced a knife-edge vote of no confidence when Broughton was on his death bed at his home in Batley.^[2] Broughton's doctors were extremely concerned for him and strongly advised him not to travel. Broughton knew that his death was imminent, but he was still willing to come down to vote with the government.^[3] However, Deputy Chief Whip Walter Harrison, with the agreement of Prime Minister James Callaghan, decided it would be unacceptable to ask him to do so, in case he died during the ambulance journey.^[3] The government lost by one vote; had Broughton been present, the Government would have survived, assuming Speaker George Thomas would have broken the tie in favour of the status quo per Speaker Denison's rule. Broughton died five days later, aged 76.^[2][3]

In popular culture

On 8 June 2009 an afternoon play called How Are You Feeling, Alf? about Broughton and the 1979 no confidence vote was aired on BBC Radio 4. It was written by James Graham and featured David Ryall as Broughton and Malcolm Tierney as James Callaghan.^[4] Three years later, Graham wrote This House, first staged by the National Theatre, which expanded on the political situation in the 1970s, in which Broughton is a key character.