Fleming Eccles (1871 or 1872 – March 1925) 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 ...

socialist politician and

trade unionist 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 ...

. Born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

,''

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

'', March 1925, p.18 Eccles worked as a weaver and was promoted to become an overlooker. He also took an interest in trade unionism, and became a branch secretary for the

National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) was an early general union in the United Kingdom, the most important general union of its era. History The union was founded in 1889 as the National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers by Will ...

."Mr. Fleming Eccles", ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 18 March 1925, p.11 Eccles was also a member of the

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 ...

(SDF), serving as financial secretary of one of its Blackburn branches, and also on its national Executive Committee. Through this became active in the Labour Representation Committee, for which he represented on Blackburn Town Council in 1903, and also to the local

Board of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...

. He stood down from his elected positions in 1906 as he became the Gas Workers' assistant district secretary for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, succeeding J. R. Clynes as district secretary in 1917. Eccles stood in

Rutland and Stamford Rutland and Stamford is a county constituency comprising the area of Lincolnshire centred on the town of Stamford; the county of Rutland; and also parts of rural Leicestershire, making it a very unusual parliamentary constituency in that it spa ...

at the 1918 general election, taking 46.4% of the vote, and again in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, where his vote dropped to 32.9%. At the 1923 general election he instead stood in

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

. This was a two-seat constituency, and his running mate Albert Law topped the poll, but Eccles could only take fifth place and again failed to be elected. By this time, he was active in the reconstituted SDF, formed by supporters of British involvement in

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 ...

. Eccles' son,

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

, followed him into trade unionism, as did his grandson, Jack Eccles.Janice Mitchell,
Jack Eccles obituary
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 7 March 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eccles, Fleming 1870s births 1925 deaths Councillors in Lancashire Trade unionists from Lancashire Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Social Democratic Federation members People from Blackburn