Richard Winfrey

Sir Richard Winfrey (5 August 1858 – 18 April 1944) was a British Liberal Party politician, newspaper publisher and campaigner for agricultural rights. He served as Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk, 1906–1923, and for Gainsborough, 1923–1924.

Winfrey was born at Long Sutton in Lincolnshire on 5 August 1858. He married Annie Lucy Pattinson of Ruskington, Lincolnshire, in 1897. His wife's brothers, Samuel Pattinson (1870–1942) and Sir Robert Pattinson (1872–1954), were later both Liberal MPs; Samuel for Horncastle from 1922 to 1924 and Robert for Grantham from 1922 to 1923. In religion Winfrey was a Congregationalist. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1914.

He died on 18 April 1944 in Castor House, Castor, Peterborough.

In 1887, Richard Winfrey purchased the Spalding Guardian, a local newspaper that was to provide the basis for the Winfrey family's newspaper interests. His next purchase was the Lynn News; he also started the North Cambs Echo and bought the Peterborough Advertiser.

During World War II Winfrey's newspaper interests began to be passed over to his son, Richard Pattinson 'Pat' Winfrey (1902–1985) who had himself unsuccessfully stood in the Holland with Boston by-election in 1924. In 1947, under the direction of Pat Winfrey, the family's newspaper titles were consolidated to form the East Midland Allied Press, later the EMAP media group.

Winfrey stood in eight general elections. He first contested South West Norfolk as a Liberal at the general election of 1895

and tried again in 1900.

He was elected Liberal MP for South West Norfolk at the 1906 Liberal landslide election