Colne Valley Labour Union
Colne Valley Labour Union | |
---|---|
Founded | 21 July 1891 |
Dissolved | 1918 |
Succeeded by | Colne Valley Political parties |
The Colne Valley Labour Union (CVLU) was a political party based in the Colne Valley, in Yorkshire, in England. The first labour party organised on the basis of a Parliamentary constituency, it successfully backed Tom Mann as secretary of the Independent Labour Party, and Victor Grayson as the local Member of Parliament. Its successor is the Colne Valley Constituency Labour Party.
Establishment
On 16 November 1890, members of the Slaithwaite branch of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants decided to form a trade union club. Following a series of organising meetings, they secured a cellar on Nabbs Lane, naming it the Social Democratic Club, and displayed a red flag inside.[1]
By 1891, there was considerable interest in trade union candidates for elected offices, independent of existing political parties, inspired by the example of the Bradford Labour Union. In mid-July, the Yorkshire Factory Times published a letter signed "A Colne Valley Voter", which called for a labour candidate in the Colne Valley Parliamentary seat at the next general election.[1]
At the Social Democratic Club, on 21 July 1891, a meeting was held, chaired by G. W. Haigh. James Bartley of the Bradford Labour Union was present, along with
The first committee of the organisation consisted of George Garside (president), Kossuth Pogson (treasurer), George W. Haigh (secretary), W. H. Barber, Joseph Baxter, George Henry Cotton, Savile Hirst, Walter May, Ephraim Sykes, and James Sykes, with Sam Eastwood co-opted shortly afterwards. By the end of the year, some sympathetic non-trade unionists had also joined, including France Littlewood and Ben Shaw. Garside was the leading figure in the party's organisation, while Gee was its main publicist, writing regularly for the Yorkshire Factory Times in its support.[1]
Early growth
Over the first couple of years, the party worked to establish branches throughout the constituency; by the end of 1892, there were labour clubs in Slaithwaite,
The party's first electoral contest was the West Riding County Council election of 1892. From five possible candidates, the party selected George Garside, and he won the seat with 55.1% of the vote, defeating the Liberal Godfrey Woodhead. The party agreed to cover Garside's transport costs and loss of wages for attending council meetings. Following this, Tom Quarmby was elected to Linthwaite School Board unopposed, on a platform of providing free books and providing education free of charge, while Pogson and Edwin Hoskins failed to win election to the Slaithwaite School Board.[1]
Mann showed some interest in contesting the Parliamentary seat, attending meetings of the party in August and October 1891, but initially he favoured focusing on trade unionism. He again showed interest early in 1892, after he lost the election to become general secretary of the
General election contests and the ILP
The CVLU broadly supported the formation of the national
In 1897, the CVLU interviewed five possible successors to Mann as
Colne Valley Labour League and Victor Grayson
The party was reorganised in 1900, becoming the Colne Valley Labour League (CVLL), and its membership again began increasing, particularly once the
Grayson was accepted as part of the Labour Party group in Parliament, but the lack of ILP backing for the election campaign led the CVLL to drift away from the ILP. In 1908, it renamed itself as the Colne Valley Socialist League, emphasising its political principles. The party sponsored Grayson in the Parliamentary seat at the
References
- ^ ISBN 0582502934.