John Scurr (born John Rennie; 6 April 1876 – 10 July 1932) was an English Labour Party politician and trade union official who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

from 1923 to 1931. Scurr was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the son of Louis James Rennie, an immigrant from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, but was adopted by his uncle, Captain John Scurr, and brought to London at six months old. He spent his life in Poplar, from which his family came, a lifelong supporter of

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

and Labour causes. In 1900, he married an Irish woman named Julia Sullivan, who became a prominent politician and campaigner for women's rights, who led a deputation (on behalf of Sylvia Pankhurst) to meet Prime Minister Asquith, in 1914 and pleaded for suffrage for women supported by the poor working-class men and women of

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. They had two sons and a daughter born within four years. She died in 1927. He was an accountant and active member of Poplar

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of trade union, labour unions or local union, union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, ...

(and later served as its president) and was elected as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

to Poplar Borough Council in 1919. He served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in 1922–1923, vice-chairman (1920–1922) and chairman (1922–1923) of the Metropolitan Boroughs Standing Joint Committee, and an alderman of

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

from 1925 to 1929. In 1921, he was imprisoned, along with 29 other Poplar councillors, as a protest against unequal

rates Rate or rates may refer to: Finance * Rate (company), an American residential mortgage company formerly known as Guaranteed Rate * Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government * Exchange rate, rate ...

. In 1913, when Scurr was Chairman of the London District Committee of the

Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union The Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers Union (DWRGLU), often known as the Dockers' Union, was a British trade union representing dock workers in the United Kingdom, founded in 1887 and merged into the Transport and General Workers' U ...

, he was a last minute socialist candidate at the Chesterfield by-election. He contested the 1914 Ipswich by-election, where he finished in third place; as the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

gained the seat from the Liberals. At the 1918 general election, he unsuccessfully contested the Liberal seat of

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

, finishing third in the contest. He was defeated again at the 1922 general election in the Mile End constituency in the East End. Scurr won the Mile End seat at the 1923 general election, unseating the Conservative MP Sir Walter Preston. He was re-elected in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

and

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

, but lost his seat when the Labour Party split at the 1931 general election.

References

* * *Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 11 July 1932 *''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scurr, John 1876 births 1932 deaths Politicians from Brisbane People from Poplar, London Australian emigrants to England Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English socialists Trade unionists from London UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 Members of Poplar Metropolitan Borough Council Members of London County Council Mayors of places in Greater London Emigrants from colonial Australia to the United Kingdom