Leslie Solley was born on 15th December 1905. He was educated at a
London County Council Elementary School and the London
University. Solley worked as a research scientist before becoming
a barrister.
A
member of the Labour Party he was elected
to represent Thurrock in the 1945 General Election.
In the House of Commons Solley associated
with a group of left-wing members that included John
Platts-Mills, Konni
Zilliacus,
Lester Hutchinson, Ian
Mikardo, Barbara
Castle, Sydney
Silverman, Geoffrey Bing, Emrys
Hughes, D. N. Pritt, William
Warbey, William Gallacher
and
Phil Piratin.
In April
1948 John
Platts-Mills organized
a petition in support of Pietro Nenni and
the Italian Socialist Party in its general election campaign. He gained
support from 27 other MPs including Solley. This went against government
policy and Platts-Mills was expelled from the party and Solley was
warned about his future conduct.
Ernest
Bevin signed
the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington
on 4th April 1949. Solley completely opposed the treaty arguing that
it went against the charter of the United Nations,
would accelerate the arms race and make it more difficult to achieve
a united Europe. On 12th May, 1949, Solley was only one of only six
Labour MPs to vote against the signing of the NATO treaty. Four days
later Solley, along with Konni
Zilliacus,
were expelled from the Labour Party.
Solley unsuccessfully contested
Thurrock in the 1950 General Election as
an Independent Labour candidate. Solley returned to his work as a
lawyer. He was also served as vice-president of the Songwriters Guild
of Great Britain.
Leslie
Solley died on 8th
January, 1968.
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