Charles Fenwick (5 May 1850 – 20 April 1918) was a British

trade union 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 ...

ist and Liberal–Labour politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1885 to 1918. Fenwick was born in

Cramlington Cramlington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland. It is north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxons. The population was 28,843 as of 2021 census data from Northumberland County Cou ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, and became a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

at the age of 10. In 1863 he joined the union and gradually became prominent within the

Northumberland Miners' Association The Northumberland Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1864 to represent coal miners in Northumberland, following the collapse of a short-lived union covering both Northumberland and Durham min ...

, his local union. He also became a

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Christian denomination within the holiness movement. Originating in early 19th-century England as a revivalist movement within Methodism, it was heavily influenced by American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–18 ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

. At the 1885 general election, Fenwick was elected as the Lib–Lab Member of Parliament for Wansbeck with a majority of 3,155. He held the seat until his death and made over 500 contributions in the House of Commons. In 1890, Fenwick was elected Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

(TUC) – the post which later became the General Secretary. He held the position until 1894, despite being a vociferous opponent of the Eight Hour Bill. Although Fenwick's union affiliated to the Labour Party in 1907, Fenwick himself refused to join, and remained affiliated to 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 ...

. Nevertheless, he retained his seat at the two general elections of 1906 on was made a Privy Councillor in 1911. He announced his intention to stand down from Parliament shortly before his death on 20 April 1918, aged 67. Two days later, it was said of Fenwick in a local newspaper report that "he set out in life to improve the condition of the people among whom he was born", and "possessed in a high degree the traits of a Northern miner – common sense, and a love of justice".

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenwick, Charles Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies General secretaries of the Trades Union Congress Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Liberal-Labour (UK) MPs UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 1850 births 1918 deaths Trade unionists from Northumberland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom