John Henry Whitley (8 February 1866 – 3 February 1935), often known as J. H. Whitley, was a British politician and

Georgist Georgism, in modern times also called Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that people should own the value that they produce themselves, while the economic rent derived from land—includ ...

. He was the final Liberal to serve as

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, a role he held from 1921 to 1928.

Family and early career

Whitley was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, on 8 February 1866 son of Nathan Whitley (1830–1889) from Ovenden. Nathan went on to serve as Mayor of Halifax (1876–1877), succeeding his cousin-in-law Edward Crossley, the son of Joseph Crossley (1813-1868), a partner in John Crossley & Sons carpet factory, Halifax. After an early education boarding at Wiseman's House,

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

, Whitley entered his uncle Samuel Whitley's cotton spinning business, S. Whitley & Co. at Hanson Lane Mills, Skircoat, Halifax. Nathan was a partner in the business and took over after Samuel's death in 1884. In 1892, Whitley married Margherita (Margaret) Virginia Marchetti. Margherita was born in

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

in 1872, a daughter of an Italian, Giulio (Julian) Marchetti, who had served as an officer under

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

before settling in England to marry Anne Crossley in Halifax in 1871 and take his place in the carpet manufacturing business. They had two daughters and two sons: Margaret Phyllis b.1895; Percival Nathan b.1893; Monica Virginia b.1903; and Oliver John b.1912. Margherita died in 1925 and John Henry remarried in 1928 to Helen Clarke in Chelsea.

Political career

Pre-war

Whitley became Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Halifax in 1900, a seat he held until he resigned in 1928. He served as

Junior Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a Government agency, commission for the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer, Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the ...

from 1907 to 1910 in the

Liberal Government 1905-1915 Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by countr ...

. He was appointed Deputy

Chairman of Ways and Means In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies. The current holder is Nusrat Ghani, following her election to the position on 23 July 2024. H ...

1910–1911,

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in 1911 and he held the role of Chairman of Ways and Means, Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, from 1911 to 1921.

Whitley Councils

During World War I, in 1917, Whitley was appointed to chair a committee to report on 'the Relations of Employers and Employees' in the wake of the establishment of the

Shop Stewards Movement The Shop Stewards Movement was a movement which brought together shop stewards from across the United Kingdom during the First World War. It originated with the Clyde Workers Committee, the first shop stewards committee in Britain, which organised ...

and the widespread protest action against dilution. The smooth running of industry was vital to the war effort so maintaining good industrial relations was a priority. He proposed a system of regular formal consultative meetings between workers and employers, known to this day as "Whitley Councils". These would be empowered to cover any issue related to pay and conditions of service, and to take matters through to arbitration if necessary. This was a strong model which was to influence industrial relations beyond the UK. The intention was to establish Whitley councils in the private sector, in particular in those industries most affected by the strike wave – to offset the demand for '

workers' control Workers' control is participation in the management of factories and other commercial enterprises by the people who work there. It has been variously advocated by anarchists, socialists, communists, social democrats, distributists and Christi ...

' – a demand which was rapidly gaining ground after the

Russian revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

. However, the councils failed to gain ground in coal, cotton, engineering and other heavy industries, but succeeded only in the sphere of government employment where they remain a major feature of

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade unions, employer organ ...

to this day.

Speaker

Whitley was appointed Speaker of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1921, a post he held until 1928, when he resigned on grounds of ill health. He refused the customary peerage offered by the monarch – breaking a tradition that had originated in 1789. Some notable portraits of Whitley were commissioned during this period, with paintings by both

William Rothenstein Sir William Rothenstein (29 January 1872 – 14 February 1945) was an English painter, printmaker, draughtsman, lecturer, and writer on art. Though he covered many subjects – ranging from landscapes in France to representations of Jewish synag ...

and Glyn Warren Philpot.

Post-Parliament

Despite resigning as MP and Speaker, his political work continued. He chaired the '' Royal Commission on Labour in India'', which reported in 1931. The report surprised many by concurring with the criticisms of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

and others that poverty was the cause of India's social and industrial problems. It was also critical of British employers' role in perpetuating the problems. Whitley was offered a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

for his work on this report, but again, he, like a minority of others, declined.

BBC

His friendship with John Reith led to his appointment as Chairman of the

Board of Governors of the BBC The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It consisted of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and represented the interests of the public. It existed from 1927 until it was r ...

in 1930. In 1932, he made the first broadcast on the Empire Service, which developed into the

World Service The BBC World Service is a British public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcasts radio news, speec ...

. He held the Chairmanship until his death.

Death and burial

Whitley died on 3 February 1935, aged 68, shortly before his 69th birthday. He is buried in Plot 456, Lister Lane Cemetery, Halifax.

Works

* *

The John Henry Whitley archive

The personal archive of John Henry Whitley was donated to the Archives and Special Collections of the

University of Huddersfield The University of Huddersfield is a public research university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has been a University since 1992, but has its origins in a series of institutions dating back to the 19th century. It has made te ...

in 2012.

Honours

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

was to Whitley erected by the Halifax Civic Trust.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, John Henry 1866 births 1935 deaths Chairmen of the BBC Politicians from Halifax, West Yorkshire People educated at Clifton College Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Speakers of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom BBC governors UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 Georgist politicians National Council of Social Service presidents