Richard Bell (politician)
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Richard Bell (1859, Merthyr Tydfil – 1 May 1930[1]) was one of the first two British Labour Members of Parliament, and the first English one, elected after the formation of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900.
Bell was a high-profile trade unionist, the general secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants. He was elected for Derby, a two-member constituency, alongside a Liberal in the 1900 general election.[1] He sympathised with the Liberals on most issues, except those that directly affected his union. This meant that he was not very compatible with the other Labour MP, Keir Hardie, a committed socialist member of the Independent Labour Party.
Although its chairman in 1902–03,[2] by 1903 Bell was struggling to adhere to the rules of the LRC group in Parliament, which now had five members following a series of by-elections. By 1904 he was considered to have lapsed from the group and was associated with the Liberal Party.[3] He was re-elected at the 1906 general election.
His supporters in the Derby Trades Council became disillusioned with Bell and replaced him at the January 1910 general election with another trade unionist from the ASRS, Jimmy Thomas.[4] After leaving Parliament, Bell joined the Employment Exchange branch of the Board of Trade. He retired from that in 1920 but continued in local politics and served as a member of the Southgate Urban District Council 1922–29.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ David Martin, “Ideology and Composition,” in The First Labour Party 1906-1914, ed. K.D. Brown (London: Croom Helm Ltd, 1985), 17
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Richard Bell
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Derby 1900–1910 With: Sir Thomas Roe |
Succeeded by James Henry Thomas and Sir Thomas Roe |
| Trade union offices | ||
| Preceded by | General Secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants 1883 - 1909 |
Succeeded by J. E. Williams |
| Preceded by | President of the Trades Union Congress 1904 |
Succeeded by James Sexton |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of the Labour Party 1902–1903 |
Succeeded by John Hodge |
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
_colour.png){kind=small} |
This article about a Labour Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
   |
This article about a Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (since 1801), for an English constituency is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
 |
This biographical article about a trade unionist in the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Use dmy dates from February 2011
- 1859 births
- 1930 deaths
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- Labour Party (UK) MPs
- Liberal-Labour (UK) MPs
- Liberal Party (UK) MPs
- General Secretaries of the National Union of Railwaymen
- Councillors in Greater London
- UK MPs 1900–06
- UK MPs 1906–10
- Presidents of the Trades Union Congress
- Chairs of the Labour Party (UK)
- Labour MP (UK) stubs
- UK MP for England stubs
- British trade unionist stubs
