Joseph George Butler (born 1869) was a British 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 ...

, who served on

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 ...

(LCC).

Early life

Born in

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

, Butler began working when he was seven years old. For many years, he worked in a factory making clothing for the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, and in 1895 he founded the Army Clothing Employees' Union, serving as its secretary. During the 1910s, he was also secretary of the United Government Workers' Federation.

Political career

Butler joined 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), and unsuccessfully contested Kennington for the party in the

1907 London County Council election An election to the County Council of London took place on 2 March 1907. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having two votes in the two-member seats. For the first time, the Progressive Party lost control of the co ...

. The SDF became the core of the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of political faction, factional struggle, in 1916 the party's ...

(BSP), and under this description, Butler stood in the

1913 London County Council election An election to the London County Council, County Council of London took place on 5 March 1913. It was the ninth triennial election of the whole Council. The size of the council was 118 councillors and 19 aldermen. The councillors were elected f ...

in Stepney, but took only 108 votes. Later in the year, he contested the 1913 Reading by-election. He received the support of 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 work ...

and the local trades council, but was only able to take 10.4% of the vote and third place. The BSP affiliated to the Labour Party, and under this label he was more successful, taking 24.1% of the vote in

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

at the

1918 United Kingdom general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sen ...

, and then winning Battersea North at the 1919 London County Council election. He was one of the county council's representatives on the

Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...

. Unlike the majority of the BSP, Butler remained with the Labour Party rather than joining the new

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

, and he chaired Westminster Labour Party from 1921 to 1926. He held his council seat until 1928, after which he became a newsagent, continued his trade union activity. He also continued to contest Parliamentary elections, taking a distant second in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

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 ...

, third place in

Willesden East Willesden East () was a borough constituency, constituency in Middlesex adjoining the County of London and forming part of the London conurbation, in London itself from 1965. It returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member to the H ...

at 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. ...

, and second in Westminster St George's at the

1929 United Kingdom general election The 1929 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 30 May 1929, with Parliament dissolved on 10 May. It resulted in a hung parliament: despite receiving fewer votes than the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwi ...

. Finally, he stood in Balham and Tooting at the

1931 London County Council election An election to the County Council of London took place on 5 March 1931. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having two votes in the two-member seats. The Municipal Reform Party slightly increased its majority on the ...

, taking fourth place.

References

1869 births Year of death missing British Socialist Party members Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates British trade union leaders Members of London County Council People from Peckham Social Democratic Federation members {{England-politician-stub