Fred Longden (23 February 1894 – 5 October 1952) was a British

Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party and the Co-operativ ...

politician. Born and brought up in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manc ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

, and educated at elementary school, he began work aged 13 as a moulder-apprentice, joining the Moulders' Union in 1914. In the same year he was awarded a place at

Ruskin College, Oxford Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is an independent educational institution in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University. It is named after the essayist, art and social critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) an ...

. He also joined 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 worki ...

and was elected to its National Council. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

he became active in the

Union of Democratic Control The Union of Democratic Control was a British pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government. World War I The impetus for the for ...

, and was arrested for making a speech appealing for immediate peace negotiations. In 1916 he was offered the chance of exemption from

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft ( conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) requ ...

on trade and health grounds, but preferred to take his stand as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to obje ...

. Refused exemption in that category, he was forcibly enlisted, and sentenced to two years imprisonment for disobeying an order; he then accepted the Home Office Scheme, and was transferred to Princetown Work Centre in the erstwhile

Dartmoor Prison HM Prison Dartmoor is a Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the moor. The prison is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, and is operated by ...

. Fred Longden was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for Birmingham Deritend, 1929-1931 and 1945–1950, and then in 1950 for

Birmingham Small Heath Birmingham Small Heath was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Small Heath area of Birmingham. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created fo ...

, which he retained until his death in 1952 aged 58.

References

* * Who's Who

External links

* British conscientious objectors Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 1890s births 1952 deaths {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub