Labour of love for politicans of old (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Labour of love for politicans of old

8:00am Thursday 18th August 2011 in Nostalgia

Lord Clark, of Windermere, recalls the Labour party’s early days in Westmorland.

Ninety years ago, on February 12, 1921, The Westmorland Gazette reported that the Westmorland Labour Party had been formed three days previously. In reality, it was little more than a bringing together of local branches from throughout the county. As early as 1895, the Kendal Trades Council had been formed, shortly to be followed by Kendal Fabian Society. In the first decade of the 1900s, Independent Labour Party (ILP) branches sprung up in both Kendal and Windermere. Local men and women were showing an interest in an alternative political party. Even prior to this, in 1892, the Unitarian Minister in Kendal, the Rev HV Mills, was elected to the County Council for the Sandes Ward of the town. He was one of the first Labour county councillors in England. Throughout the 1890s, Labour candidates tried to win election to Kendal Council and in 1903, Thomas Watts was successful. More successes followed and by 1920, six Labour men had gained election. With industry developing throughout the county, trade unions began to thrive. The railwaymen were to the fore for independent political representation with a number of branches. Indeed Labour’s second county councillor in 1922 was James Robinson, a railwayman from Tebay. The boot and shoe union was the most active one in Kendal and it supplied council candidates and was influential in the Trades Council. Eventually the Labour Hall was established in Black Hall Lane. I believe it was a converted Primitive Methodist Chapel and it survived until the 1960s when it was demolished to make way for the new shopping development. A number of clergymen were particularly active in establishing Labour. In the north of the county at Askham, the Rev WB Graham was an ardent socialist and fought for the agricultural workers, while in Kendal, another Unitarian minister, the Rev LB Brown was a keen Labour supporter and his wife contested the parliamentary seat in 1935. She is the only woman ever to fight Westmorland and polled extremely well, attracting thousands to her meetings in a straight fight with the Tories. Women’s suffrage became a major issue and, coupled with the peace movement, attracted many converts from Liberal-supporting Quakers.