Ernest Walter Hampton (11 January 1885 – 1 January 1960) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

activist. Hampton was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, to Joseph Hampton and Ellen Brown, and baptised Roman Catholic. He attended

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a Colleges of the University of Oxford, college of Oxford University. Named ...

in Oxford, receiving a Diploma of Economics and Political Science accredited by the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. He became involved in the co-operative movement, and served as the chairman of Co-operative Builders, based in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. While there, he became politically active with the

Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party () is a centre-left List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. The party currently has an electoral pact with the Labour Party. E ...

. In 1919, Hampton was one of the first three Co-operative Party candidates elected to

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Birmingham has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropo ...

, winning the

Balsall Heath Balsall Heath is an inner-city area of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It has a diverse cultural mix of people and is the location of the Balti Triangle. History The name is first found as Bordeshale in 1275, which is derived from the ...

ward, holding the seat for three years. The Co-operative Party soon allied with the Labour Party, and in 1921/22, Hampton was secretary of the Birmingham Labour Party group. He stood as a joint

Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an el ...

candidate in

Birmingham Sparkbrook Birmingham, Sparkbrook was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the pos ...

at the

1922 United Kingdom general election The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and ...

, taking third place with 23.4% of the vote. In the

1923 United Kingdom general election The 1923 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 December 1923. The Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour Party (UK), Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. ...

, he stood again, but this time as a Labour Party candidate, sponsored by the

National Union of Clerks The Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff (APEX) was a Great Britain, British trade union which represented Clerk, clerical and Business administration, administrative employees. History The Clerks Union was forme ...

. He improved his vote share slightly, to 24.6%, and moved up to second place. In 1928, Hampton wrote a history of co-operation in Birmingham. He became the area organiser for the co-operative movement, but he moved away from the district in 1930. He died in 1960 in

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

, Worcestershire.''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Ernest Walter 1885 births 1960 deaths Co-operative Party politicians Councillors in Birmingham, West Midlands Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Politicians from Bristol English Roman Catholics