Alfred Edward Waterson (5 August 1880,

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

– 25 November 1964) was a Labour and

Co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. He was the first Co-operative Party MP. Born in

, Waterson was a railwayman and activist in his

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 ...

. He served as a

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

lor. Although the Co-operative Party put up several candidates for the first time at the 1918 general election, only one met with success. Waterson was elected as MP for the

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

seat. He took the Labour whip in Parliament, ahead of any decision of

Co-operative Congress The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the " Owenite Congress" in the 1830s. Members of Co-operatives UK ...

to progress a formal alliance with the Labour Party. Waterson was defeated at the 1922 general election. He became a national organiser of the Co-operative Party, serving until 1945. He contested the Nottingham Central by-election in 1930, and stood in Nottingham Central at the 1931 general election, coming a distant second in each case. He died in

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms ...

, London aged 84.

References

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External links

''Co-operative News'' article on Waterson's election

External links

* 1880 births 1964 deaths Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1918–1922 Politicians from Derby {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub