John Wadsworth

British politician

For the British ceramicist, see John William Wadsworth.

John Wadsworth MP, circa 1906

John Wadsworth (1850 – 10 July 1921) was a British trade unionist and Liberal or Lib-Lab politician.

Born in West Melton in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Wadsworth worked as a coal miner and was elected checkweighman. He joined the Yorkshire Miners Association, a constituent part of the Miners Federation of Great Britain (MFGB), rising to become the Yorkshire Association's general secretary, then in 1904 its president.

Wadsworth was elected as the Lib-Lab Member of Parliament (MP) for Hallamshire at the 1906 general election.

General election 1906: Hallamshire  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | John Wadsworth  | 8,375  | 55.2  |
| Conservative | Frederic Kelley  | 6,807  | 44.8  |
Majority | 1,568  | 10.4  |
Turnout |  | 83.9  |
| Liberal hold | Swing |  |

In 1909, with the other MFGB-sponsored MPs, he joined the Labour Party, retaining his seat in his new colours.

General election January 1910: Hallamshire  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | John Wadsworth  | 10,193  | 62.2  |
| Conservative | Thomas Sutton Timmis  | 6,185  | 37.8  |
Majority | 4,008  | 24.4  |
Turnout |  | 82.2  |
| Labour gain from Liberal | Swing |  |
General election December 1910: Hallamshire  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | John Wadsworth  | 8,708  | 59.9  |
| Conservative | David Thurston Smith  | 5,837  | 40.1  |
Majority | 2,871  | 19.8  |
Turnout |  | 73.0  |
| Labour hold | Swing |  |

In 1915 he resigned the Labour whip and re-joined the Liberals.[1] He continued as MP until the seat's abolition for the 1918 general election.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ The History of the Liberal Party, 1895–1970 by Roy Douglas (1971) p. 355

* Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, Who's Who of British MPs: Volume II, 1886–1918

## External links

[edit]

* Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Wadsworth

Trade union offices

Preceded by

George Cragg

|  Vice-President of the Yorkshire Miners' Association
1889–1904  | Succeeded by

Herbert Smith

Preceded by

Edward Cowey

|  President of the Yorkshire Miners' Association
1904–1906  | Succeeded by

Herbert Smith

Preceded by

William Parrott

|  General Secretary of the Yorkshire Miners' Association
1906–1921  | Succeeded by

Samuel Roebuck

Preceded by

William Parrott and William Henry Wilkinson

|  Auditor of the Trades Union Congress
1903–1905
With:  William Henry Wilkinson (1903–1904)
Joe Williams (1905)  | Succeeded by

Alfred Smalley and David Watts Morgan

Preceded by

John Hodge and David Shackleton

|  Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour
1908
With:  Herbert Skinner | Succeeded by

J. R. Clynes and Alfred Henry Gill

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by

Frederick Mappin

|  Member of Parliament for Hallamshire
1906–1918 | Constituency abolished