Tom Brown (politician)
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Tom Brown | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Ince | |
In office 20 October 1942 – 15 October 1964 | |
Preceded by | Gordon Macdonald |
Succeeded by | Michael McGuire |
Personal details | |
Born | Thomas James Brown 12 August 1886 Leigh, Lancashire, England |
Died | 10 November 1970 | (aged 84)
Political party | Labour |
Thomas James Brown (12 August 1886 – 10 November 1970) was a British coal miner and Labour Party politician. During a 22-year career in Parliament he became known as the "miner's champion", fighting for compensation for those suffering from industrial diseases, and to improve state pensions.
Miner
Brown was born in
Political career
In 1919 Brown was elected to
Election to Parliament
As Vice-President of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation, Brown won the Miners' Federation nomination for the vacated seat of Ince where the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) was made a Regional Controller for the Ministry of Fuel and Power.[1] Brown was elected unopposed.[2]
He concentrated on the problems of the mining industry and miners, calling for the abolition of the means test for retired miners. Along with the majority of Labour backbenchers, Brown voted against the wartime government's decision to postpone implementation of the Beveridge report. He called for increases in the level of the state pension.
Campaigns
Brown was allied with the left on issues such as the grant to members of the royal family and continuing
In 1958 Brown, then chairman of the Lancashire and Cheshire group of Labour MPs, organised a delegation to the government calling for a complete prohibition of textile imports from Hong Kong, Pakistan and India. The group argued that these goods were produced by sweated labour, and that the Lancashire textile industry needed protection. A strong supporter of state ownership of the mining industry, Brown rejected moves to restrict the borrowing power of the National Coal Board.
Retirement
In poor health and in his mid seventies, Brown announced in August 1961 his decision not to fight the next election on doctor's advice. In 1962, having come out of hospital to attend a debate on nurses' pay, he declared he felt as walked out that he would have been willing to give nurses the whole Treasury.
References
- ^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1950.
- ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
- M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)
- Obituary, The Times, 11 November 1970