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Horatio Bottomley: a warning for populists
The hugely influential newspaper editor, politician, orator and crook had a remarkable journey from poverty to Westminster and back — he was well ahead of his time, writes STEPHEN ARNELL
) Horatio Bottomley at a WWI recruiting rally in Trafalgar Square, September 10 1915; (below) A cover of John Bull magazine of November 18 1916, edited by Horatio Bottomley
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THIS year marks the 90th anniversary of the death of the jingoistic populist leader, MP, newspaper journalist, editor and proprietor, serial adulterer, borderline alcoholic, gambler, financier, and convicted fraudster Horatio William Bottomley (1860-1933).
While his name and notoriety are largely forgotten, he cuts a surprisingly modern figure in the age of Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson, GB News, Boris Johnson, and TalkTV.
Politically, his views were mutable, geared to whatever benefited him in terms of career advancement and opportunities for financial speculation — hence his journey from Liberal radicalism to nationalist populism. Bottomley’s incredibly successful “patriotic” weekly paper John Bull and recruitment rallies during WWI gave him access and influence over millions.
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