T. D. Benson
Thomas Duckworth Benson (1857–1926), known as T. D. Benson, was a
socialist
activist.
Living in
Swedenborg, and in 1895, he was the founding treasurer of the New Church Socialist Society, and editor of its journal, Uses.[3] He also became active in the Independent Labour Party (ILP), and was the main financial backer of Keir Hardie's unsuccessful candidacy in the 1896 Bradford East by-election.[1]
In 1901, Benson became Treasurer of the ILP.
Benson remained treasurer for twenty years, opposing World War I, but suffering long-term ill health.[7] His son, George Benson, became a Labour Party Member of Parliament, and was also Treasurer of the ILP.[8]
References
- ^ a b c David Marquand, Ramsay MacDonald, p.130
- ^ Fenner Brockway, Towards Tomorrow, p.28
- ^ Leonard Smith, Nonconformity and the Emergence of the Independent Labour Movement, c.1880-c. 1914, p.22
- ^ The Socialist Year Book and Labour Annual (1913), p.30
- ^ Duncan Tanner, Political Change and the Labour Party 1900-1918, p.59
- ^ Logie Barrow and Ian Bullock, Democratic Ideas and the British Labour Movement, 1880-1914, p.163
- ^ Independent Labour Party, Report of the Annual Conference (1926), p.26
- ^ Gordon Rose, The Struggle for Penal Reform, p.102