British Jews are about to celebrate a landmark for minority groups involved in British politics. It is 150 years since Lionel Rothschild took his seat in Parliament as the first Jewish MP on July 26, 1858. This was a milestone for the Jewish community’s integration in Britain and also for wider issues of religious freedom and minority groups engaged in politics.

Rothschild’s journey to become the “first Jewish MP” was not entirely smooth. He was not the first Jewish-born MP to be elected to Parliament, but eventually became the first practising Jew to be able to take his seat. Four Jewish converts to Christianity had been elected to Parliament in the first half of the 18th century, including the economist David Ricardo.

Lionel Rothschild was born in 1808 into the British-based part of the wealthy Rothschild dynasty, which had risen from the Frankfurt ghetto to become one of the richest and most influential families in Europe, where it had branches in Vienna, Naples and Paris. They became key players in international finance, providing loans to governments worldwide. As the poet Heinrich Heine put it: “Money is the god of our time and Rothschild is his prophet.”

Eschewing a career focused solely on the family bank, Rothschild decided to enter politics, and in 1847, was elected Liberal MP for the City of London. His political platform was to advocate free trade, religious freedom and helping the poor by dropping the duty on tea. Already four Bills to dismantle the barriers to Jewish MPs had been rejected between 1830 and 1836. Once elected in 1847, Rothschild refused to take his seat on the conventional oath “on the true faith of Christian”. Instead he lobbied for a Bill to relieve himself of having to take the oath. Its first incarnation, backed by the Prime Minister, Lord Russell, was voted down. Further attempts to reform the rules also failed.

Times Archive, 1879: The late Baron Lionel de Rothschild

At the time when Baron de Rothschild entered public life, it was impossible for him or any person of the Jewish religion to sit in Parliament

• House of Commons: Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild

Rothschild’s struggle to take his seat in Parliament lasted 11 years. He was elected five times by the voters of the City between 1847 and 1857. Eventually in 1858, he took his seat in the Commons, as a compromise had been reached that each House of Parliament could decide the wording of its respective oaths. Rothschild’s cause was supported by the Conservative Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, a Christian of Jewish descent. After Rothschild had sworn an oath on the Old Testament with his head covered, Russell, one of his staunchest allies, proclaimed joyfully: “The principle of religious liberty has made great progress”.

Opponents of the emancipation campaign had argued that Parliament was a Christian legislature, and Jewish participation undermined this. Some MPs referred to Rothschild’s victory as “the intrusion of the blasphemer”.

Rothschild’s success had a dramatic impact, and boosted the self-confidence of British Jewry. It opened the door for further Jewish participation in politics. The number of Jewish MPs surged dramatically and in 1885 Rothschild’s son, Nathan de Rothschild, became the first Jewish peer.

Ironically, Lionel Rothschild, who remained an MP for the City of London for a further 15 years, never spoke in the House. This has led some to conclude that he was motivated in his quest to take his seat less by a sense of crusading mission than by competition with other leading Anglo-Jewish families.

One of his chief rivals, Sir David Salomons, was also involved in the campaign and eventually took his seat in 1859, having become the first Jewish Lord Mayor in 1855.

Whatever Rothschild’s motives, the events of 1858 were an important step on the road of Jewish emancipation. In the first half of the 19th century there had been giant strides in Catholic emancipation. Other reforms, such as the University Tests Act in 1871, also improved conditions for Jews, opening universities such as Oxford and Cambridge to people of all faiths. The increase in civil and political rights resulted in a burgeoning Jewish self-confidence in Britain. Growing political participation played a key role in Jewish integration in Britain. It helped to create a better environment for the thousands of Jews who arrived from Russia, Poland and elsewhere from 1880 onwards, many of them fleeing from pogrom and persecution. It also gave succour to other minority groups who wished to participate in the politics of the nation. The first MP of Asian decent was the Liberal Dadabhai Naoroji, who was elected member for Finsbury Central in 1892.

Since 1858 the Jewish contribution to British politics has straddled all the leading parties. Jews have served as MPs, peers, advisers, local councillors and even as government ministers. This active, enthusiastic participation has, in many stances, been motivated by the emphasis that Judaism places on public service. However, although Disraeli took pride in his Jewish ancestry, there has not been a Jewish prime minister — although the Earl of Rosebery (Prime Minister 1894-95) was married to Hannah de Rothschild.

Margaret Thatcher enjoyed a special kinship with the Jewish community: some of her intellectual mentors such as Sir Keith Joseph and Sir Alfred Sherman were Jewish, as were a number of her Cabinet ministers. This prompted Harold Macmillan’s wry remark, mindful of the Jews of Eastern European descent, that there more “old Estonians than Old Etonians” in the Government.

Lionel Rothschild was a pioneer who struck a blow for the freedom of all faith and minority groups to participate in politics.

The Greville Janner Jewish Tour of Parliament: boardofdeputies.org.uk/ParliamentJewishTour.pdf