Henry Harvey Vivian (20 April 1868 – 30 May 1930) was an English

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

, and

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician and campaigner for

industrial democracy Industrial democracy is an arrangement which involves workers making decisions, sharing responsibility and authority in the workplace. While in participative management organizational designs workers are listened to and take part in the decisi ...

and co-partnership, especially noted for his work in co-partnership housing.

Biography

Vivian was born in Cornwood,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, not far from

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

, the son of William Henry Vivian, a carpenter. He was educated at the local Church of England or 'national' school and following a period as an apprentice to a local

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

, he moved to London for work. In August 1894, he married Harriett Helen Sturgeon, the daughter of an

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation t ...

supervisor. Together with their daughterMark Pottle, ''Henry Harvey Vivian'' in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''; OUP 2004–09 they lived in Burgoyne Road, Harringay. Vivian's spiritual beliefs appear to have been very much in line with his political ones.

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

, on opening a new recreation ground at Brentham in June 1908, described him as a practical mystic

Career

Trade unionist

Like his father, Vivian was a carpenter by trade and became an active trade union organiser. He was for a time President of the

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Victor ...

Society of Carpenters and Joiners.

Co-partnership

He was a strong believer in the ideals of the

cooperative movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...

being a member of the Central Board of the Cooperative Congress for the London region and of co-partnership in industry and society which he believed made industrial harmony more likely as employees gained a direct stake in the ownership and success (through profit-sharing) of the companies for which they worked. He was a leader in the

co-partnership housing movement Housing co-partnership was a social movement that developed alongside the garden city movement in Britain between 1900 and 1914 and which financed and built most of the suburbs and villages associated with that movement. It was also a unique form of ...

, a campaigning secretary of the Labour Co-partnership Association, chairman of the Co-partnership Tenants' Housing Council and of Co-partnership Tenants Ltd.''The Times House of Commons 1910''; Politico’s Publishing 2004 p. 31 He also co-founded and edited the journal ''Labour Co-partnership''.''Who was Who'', OUP 2007

Urban planner

Vivian set up a company called General Builders Ltd., a practical venture into co-partnership with the aim of providing its members with work and accommodation. One of Vivian's most enduring achievements was the building of the

Brentham Garden Suburb Brentham Garden Suburb near Pitshanger in Ealing was the first garden suburb in London to be built in co-partnership housing movement principles, predating the larger and better-known Hampstead Garden Suburb by some years. It was mostly built be ...

in the Pitshanger area of

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was his ...

following the philosophy of the

garden city movement The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...

promoted by

Ebenezer Howard Sir Ebenezer Howard (29 January 1850 – 1 May 1928) was an English urban planner and founder of the garden city movement, known for his publication ''To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform'' (1898), the description of a utopian city in whic ...

. Brentham featured a social institute, library, tennis courts and a bowling green. In addition the houses were designed with large gardens and the house attracted interest from British and foreign urban planners. He was chairman on the project's management body, Ealing Tenants Ltd from its inception in 1901. Although he resigned the chairmanship in 1911, he remained on the committee until his death. At the invitation of the Governor-General, Vivian made a tour of Canada in 1910 to promote similar schemes and lecture on

town planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

, housing conditions,

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...

and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

. Co-Partnership Tenants Ltd went on to play an important role in the development of the garden city of Letchworth and of

Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentie ...

Politics

Vivian was a

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

Liberal not a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

. While he did not believe in votes for women, as his support for co-partnership demonstrated, he believed in the Liberal virtues of self-reliance, self-help and freedom from state interference. He was first elected to Parliament at the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting electi ...

Lib-Lab The Liberal–Labour movement refers to the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions. These candidates stood for the British Parliament with the aim of representing ...

candidate for

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liv ...

, in Cheshire. He opposed the movement of Trade Union MPs into the Labour Party in 1908. He voted against what he saw as socialist measures such as the Unemployed Workmen Bill which placed a duty on local committees to provide work or relief for the unemployed. Vivian held his

seat at the general election of January 1910, albeit by the narrow margin of 144 votes. In December 1910 however, when he was subject to attacks from the left accusing him of being 'the workers' enemy' and urging socialists to vote against him, he lost to the Unionists.

South Somerset by-election, 1911

Vivian got a chance to re-enter the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. T ...

in 1911 when the Liberal MP for

South Somerset South Somerset is a local government district in Somerset, England. The South Somerset district covers an area of ranging from the borders with Devon, Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approxim ...

, Sir Edward Strachey, was given a peerage, causing a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...

. Vivian was adopted as Liberal candidate. South Somerset had been a Liberal seat since its creation in

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 &n ...

and Strachey had been MP for the constituency since

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...

but the size of his majorities had been decreasing since 1906 and the Conservative candidate in the by-election,

Aubrey Herbert Colonel The Honourable Aubrey Nigel Henry Molyneux Herbert (3 April 1880 – 26 September 1923), of Pixton Park in Somerset and of Teversal, in Nottinghamshire, was a British soldier, diplomat, traveller, and intelligence officer associat ...

, had the advantage of being known in the area, having been the candidate in both the general elections of 1910. The election seems to have fought mostly on the issue of the

National Insurance Act The National Insurance Act 1911 created National Insurance, originally a system of health insurance for industrial workers in Great Britain based on contributions from employers, the government, and the workers themselves. It was one of the foun ...

. On 13 November, in a portent of things to come, the Unionists won a Liberal seat in a by-election at

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, w ...

. Herbert entered polling day in a mood of great optimism and duly emerged as the new MP with a majority of 148 votes over Vivian.

1918–1922

Vivian had no wish to end his political career and was adopted as Liberal candidate for the new north London constituency of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

in 1917. At the 1918 general election he faced a four-cornered contest there standing as an Independent Asquithian Liberal but was not successful. He next fought

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

at the 1922 general election again as an Independent Liberal in a three-cornered contest with a

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

National Liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A seri ...

and Labour. The National Liberal topped the poll and Vivian lost his deposit.

1923–1924

By the time of the 1923 general election the two wings of the Liberal Party had re-united and Vivian was chosen as candidate for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...

in his home county of Devon. He beat the sitting

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

MP Samuel Harvey by a majority of 502 votes. However this margin was too narrow to hold against a resurgent Conservative Party at the 1924 election and Harvey regained the seat. Vivian did not stand for Parliament again but remained interested in Liberal politics as an active member of Hornsey Liberal Association.

Political and public appointments

In 1906 Vivian was appointed a member of the Royal Commission on Canals and Waterways. He was a member of the House of Commons Select Committee on Housing and Town Planning and of a Home Office Departmental Committee on Accidents in Factories and Workshops. After the First World War, Vivian became an enthusiastic supporter of the League of Nations and he was chairman of his local branch of the League of Nations Union in

Hornsey Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood and Alexandra Park to the ...

Death

Vivian died on 30 May 1930 aged 62 years at his home, The Limes, Crouch End Hill in

.The Times, 31 May 1930 p. 1

Publications

* ''How Co-operative Production May be Successfully Applied to the Building Trades'' – Labour Association for Promoting Co-operative Production Based on the Co-partnership of the Workers (undated) * ''Some Aspects of the Co-operative Movement'' – Labour Association for Promoting Co-operative Production Based on the Co-partnership of the Workers (undated) * ''The Efficient Organisation of Industry'' – – Labour Association for Promoting Co-operative Production Based on the Co-partnership of the Workers (undated) *''What Co-operative Production is Doing'' – Labour Association for Promoting Co-operative Production Based on the Co-partnership of the Workers, 1897 *''Partnership of Capital and Labour as a solution of the Conflict between them'' – Labour Association for Promoting Co-operative Production Based on the Co-partnership of the Workers, 1898 * ''Co-operative Stores and Labour Co-partnership'' – Labour Association for Promoting Co-operative Production Based on the Co-partnership of the Workers (Great Britain), 1899 *''Co-operative Production'' – Labour Co-partnership Association, 1899 *''Co-operation and Trade Unionism'' – Labour Co-partnership Association, 1902 *''Industrial Democracy'' – Labour Co-partnership Association, 1902 *''Co-operators and preferential tariffs'' – Liberal Publications Dept., London 1903 *''Co-partnership'' – The Labour Co-partnership Association, 1906 *''A New Chapter in the History of Co-operation and Labour: The North Wales Quarries Ltd''. – Co-operative Union, Ltd., 1906 * ''The Pioneer Co-partnership Village'' – Ealing Tenants Ltd., 1908 *''Co-Partnership in Housing'' – Co-Partnership Tenants, London 1910 *''Problems of Finance: with special reference to the co-partnership movement'' – Co-partnership publishers, London 1912 *''Some Experiments in Community Making'' – Co-partnership publishers, London 1912 *''Co-partnership in practice'' – Labour Co-partnership Association, 1912 *''How to Apply Town Planning to Calgary'' – 1912

References

External links

Brentham Society website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vivian, Henry Harvey 1868 births 1930 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1923–1924 Liberal-Labour (UK) MPs Trade unionists from Devon English urban planners People from South Hams (district) Politics of Cheshire Politics of Somerset Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Totnes People from Harringay