Bradford Trades Council brings together trade unionists in and around

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

in England.

History

The first Bradford Trades Council was founded in July 1867 by six local unions. They were inspired by the London tailors' strike, but feared that it would result in a ban on trade unions. It was led by president William Angus, secretary C. D. Dewhurst, and treasurer Robert Bayes. It sent questions to the candidates in the 1867 Bradford by-election, but ultimately decided against backing either candidate. Dewhurst represented the council at the first

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 ...

, but he read a paper which had not been approved by the trades council. It was also found that his union had not paid its affiliation fees, so he was replaced as secretary. He had returned to the post by 1869, but the council ceased operating soon afterwards.{{cite book , last1=Ashraf , first1=Mary , title=Bradford Trades Council: 1872-1972 , date=1972 , publisher=Bradford Trades Council , location=Bradford A new Bradford Trades Council was founded on 16 July 1872 at the Black Bull. It was led by president Samuel Shaftoe, vice president Robert Scott, treasurer W. Scruton, and secretary Edward Riley. In its early years, it focused on campaigning for a nine-hour maximum working day, and on providing support for unions which were in dispute. From the 1880s, the council worked closely with what became the Amalgamated Society of Dyers; one of its leading figures, William Otty, became president of the trades council in 1882, and from 1897, the council was based at the trades hall which was owned by the union. The Manningham Mills strike of 1890–1891 moved many leading figures on the council away from 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 ...

. James Bartley, William Henry Drew and Joseph Hayhurst founded the Bradford Labour Union in 1891. The trades council sponsored a joint slate with the Labour Union in the municipal elections, putting up Bartley, Edwin Halford, Andrew Hopkinson, and Shaftoe, on a platform of an eight-hour day for municipal workers, and municipal contracts to employ trade union members. The council also sponsored

Ben Tillett Benjamin Tillett (11 September 1860 – 27 January 1943) was a British socialist, trade union leader and politician. He was a leader of the "new unionism" of 1889, that focused on organizing unskilled workers. He played a major role in foundin ...

's unsuccessful candidacy in

Bradford West Bradford West is a constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Naz Shah of the Labour Party. Constituency profile Bradford West covers the Bradford city centre, Manningham, Allerton an ...

in the

1892 UK general election The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury again win the greatest number of seats, but no longer a majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won 80 more seats ...

. The Labour Union became part of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

(ILP), and from 1902, the trades council began working with the ILP and local trade unions in the Workers' Municipal Federation (WMF). The trades council became known as the Bradford Trades and Labour Council, and was the central body for the local Labour Party, but only stood candidates in agreement with the ILP and

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...

. From 1914 to 1936, the WMF published the '' Bradford Pioneer''.Newspapers in Special Collections

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

The first woman to become a delegate to the trades council was

Julia Varley Julia Varley, OBE (16 March 1871, Bradford, Yorkshire – 24 November 1952, Yorkshire) was an English trade unionist and suffragette. Early life Born at 4, Monk Street in Horton in Bradford, she was one of seven surviving children out of nine b ...

, in 1899; five years later, she was the first woman to become a member of its executive. The trades council opposed

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, prompting some local Labour councillors to ask it to drop "Labour" from its name. This was rejected, and the council continued on a radical course, supporting the

Hands Off Russia The Hands Off Russia campaign was an international political initiative first launched by British Socialists in 1919 to organise opposition to the British intervention on the side of the White armies against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War ...

campaign, and organising the

1926 UK general strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government ...

in the city. It has remained active ever since, and in recent years has been known as the Bradford Trades Union Council.

Officers

Secretaries

:1872: Edward Riley :1882: Samuel Shaftoe :1893: George Cowgill :1895: James Bartley :1899:

Fred Jowett Frederick William Jowett (31 January 1864 – 1 February 1944) was a British Labour politician, who served as First Commissioner of Works in the first Labour government, and therefore in the Cabinet of Ramsay MacDonald. Early life Jowett wa ...

: William Henry Drew :1906: Walter Barber :c.1930: Revis Barber :c.1948: Derek Smith :1990s: Mike Quiggin

Presidents

:1872: Samuel Shaftoe :1875: Robert Appleyard :1877: Samuel Shaftoe :1882: William Otty :1884: Edwin Halford :1894: C. L. Robinson :Theophilus Warner :as of 1900: A. N. Harris :1921: Thomas William Stamford :1924: :as of 1926: Harold Child :1942: Jim Backhouse :1970: Ludwig Baruch :1973:

Pat Wall Charles Patrick Wall (6 May 1933 – 6 August 1990) was an English Trotskyist political activist who was the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford North from 1987 until his death. Wall was a long-standing member of the Mi ...

:1990: Ronnie Fieldhouse :2000s: Altaf Arif

References

Organisations based in Bradford Politics of Bradford Trades councils Trade unions established in 1872