The Bradford Labour Union was a political party based in Bradford in England, which was an important forerunner of the Independent Labour Party. In late 1890 and early 1891, there was a major strike at the

Manningham Mills Lister's Mill (otherwise known as Manningham Mills) was the largest silk factory in the world. It is located in the Manningham district of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England and was built by Samuel Cunliffe Lister to replace the original Mann ...

in Bradford. Following the strike, many local trade unionists believed that they needed an independent organisation which would nominate trade unionists for political posts who would not be affiliated with the Liberal Party or the Conservative Party. The Labour Union was founded in 1891 by a group of trade unionists, including James Bartley,

Charlie Glyde Charles Augustus Glyde (1869 – August 1923) was a British socialist politician. Born in Leeds, Glyde moved to Bolton with his family in 1887. He joined the Salvation Army, but soon became disillusioned. The Social Democratic Federation's (SD ...

, Edward Hartley, William Henry Drew and Joseph Hayhurst.{{cite journal , last1=Crick , first1=Martin , title=The Bradford Branch of the Social-Democratic Federation , journal=The Bradford Antiquary , date=1991 , volume=5 , pages=25–40 , url=http://www.bradfordhistorical.org.uk/oddities.html , accessdate=29 November 2018 They agreed to run a joint slate in the municipal elections with the Bradford Trades Council, and they put up Bartley, Edwin Halford, Andrew Hopkinson, and

Samuel Shaftoe Samuel Shaftoe (25 May 1841 – 27 November 1911) was a British trade unionist. Born in York, Shaftoe moved with his family to Kingston upon Hull when he was eleven, leaving school and becoming an apprentice basket maker. He joined the ...

, on a platform of an eight-hour day for municipal workers, and for municipal contracts to employ trade union members. Only Shaftoe won a seat, and he worked closely with the Liberal Party, but in 1892 the socialist

Fred Jowett Frederick William Jowett (31 January 1864 – 1 February 1944) was a British Labour politician. Early life Jowett was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on 31 January 1864. He received little formal education and at the age of eight was workin ...

was elected, as was Leonard Robinson.Fenner Brockway, Socialism Over Sixty Years: The Life of Jowett of Bradford. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1946 Additionally, Drew was elected to the school board. Keith Laybourn and John Saville, "Drew, William Henry (Harry)", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.IV, pp.75–77 This success led the Labour Union to decide to stand a candidate in the 1892 general election. Initially, it agreed to sponsor Robert Blatchford in

Bradford East Bradford East is a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015 b ...

, but he withdrew, and instead the party sponsored Ben Tillett in Bradford West. Tillett was jointly sponsored by the Labour Union and the Trades Council, and he took 30.2% of the vote, although this was only enough for third place.David Howell, ''British Workers and the Independent Labour, 1888–1906'', Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984, pp. 471–484. The party inspired the formation of Labour Unions in other towns and cities: Colne Valley, Huddersfield and Salford. This increase in interest in independent labour representation led to support for a national party, and an arrangements committee was established by interested activists at the 1892

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances O ...

. This held a conference in Bradford from 14–16 January 1893, chaired by Drew, which founded the Independent Labour Party. The Bradford Labour Union merged into the new body.

References

Independent Labour Party Labour parties Political parties established in 1891 Political parties disestablished in 1893 Politics of Bradford