Andrew Sharp (26 April 1841 – 14 October 1919) was a British

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. Born in Ellenport, near

Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is on the coast of the Solway Firth and lies at the northern end of the former Cumberland Co ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, Sharp's father died when he was just over one year old, and he was brought up by his mother, helping financially by working in agriculture from an early age. He worked full-time as a pony driver in a coal mine from the age of ten, graduating to cut coal underground at eighteen.Joyce Bellamy, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'' (vol.I), pp.296–297 Sharp educated himself and became an active trade unionist, but was victimised as a result, and had to relocate to

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

to find work. However, he returned to Cumberland in 1872, and that year attended the

Amalgamated Association of Miners The Amalgamated Association of Miners (AAM) was formed in 1869 in Lancashire, at a time of increasing industrial conflict in the British coalfields. History The union was founded by Thomas Halliday and William Pickard, two miners' union agents wh ...

' conference. Sharp was inspired to form the

Cumberland Miners' Association The Cumberland Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1872 as the West Cumberland Miners' Association, with its aims being the establishment of an eight-hour day, and improved safety. In 1906, it rem ...

(CMA) and affiliated it to the AAM; by 1874, it had 1,500 members, and he worked as its general secretary and full-time agent. Under Sharp's leadership, the CMA won an important strike, solidifying its position, and he supported the formation of the

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales, Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' ...

(MFGB), serving on its executive on several occasions. Long a supporter of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, he was elected to Cumberland County Council on its formation, and also served on Maryport Urban District Council. He followed the MFGB in switching his support to the emerging Labour Party, and stood unsuccessfully for it in

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

, with the financial backing of the Whitehaven Trades Council. Sharp retired in 1916, the union granting him a pension of one pound a week. He died three years later, in 1919.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Andrew 1841 births 1919 deaths Councillors in Cumbria Trade unionists from Cumbria Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Liberal Party (UK) councillors People from Maryport