Joseph Gibbins, JP (1888 – 26 August 1965) was a British

trade union 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 ...

ist and Labour Party politician.

Early life

Joseph Gibbins was born in the Toxteth Park district of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in early 1888. He was educated at evening classes at

Liverpool University The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University, it received Royal Charter by King Edward VII in 1903 attaining the de ...

. Gibbins married Sarah Beatrice Hugill at Princes Park Methodist Church, Liverpool in 1912, and they had two sons and two daughters. He served with the RNR during the

First World War 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 ...

, and afterwards became Secretary of the Liverpool Boilermakers' Union.

Political records

Gibbins unsuccessfully contested the West Toxteth division of Liverpool for Labour in the general elections of

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 ...

and

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

, losing by only 139 votes on the latter occasion. Shortly after the 1923 election, the Labour party formed its first government, taking office on 22 January 1924. In April 1924, the long-serving but low-profile Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for West Toxteth, Sir Robert Paterson Houston, Bt. retired. Joseph Gibbins was once again selected to fight the seat for Labour. He was 36 years old. Liverpool was a notoriously sectarian city, divided along

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

lines. The Conservative city-boss,

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 ...

the

Rt Hon ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

. Sir Archibald Salvidge had built a career in stoking these divisions. As early as 1907, at the count for the Liverpool Kirkdale by-election,

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

had remarked to him bitterly

It is astonishing how in Liverpool, whatever the issue appears to be at the start, you always manage to mobilise the full force of
Orangeism The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...
. We will never do any good here until that power is broken...''Salvidge of Liverpool; by Stanley Salvidge (Hodder & Stoughton, 1934), page 90.''

And so it was in West Toxteth in 1924. To Salvidge and his candidate, Thomas White, the issue was religion and specifically, denouncement of any attempt to adjust the boundaries of the newly created

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The Boundary Commission (Ireland) was then in the early stage of its report. The by-election was notable in that it saw

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's first speech to a Conservative meeting in over 20 years, when he addressed the Liverpool Conservative Workingman's Association on 7 May 1924. The Liberals did not put forward a candidate and advised their supporters to vote Labour. On 22 May 1924 Joseph Gibbins, a non-sectarian Protestant, triumphed for Labour, with a majority of 2,471 over the Conservative. The result was exceptional, as it remains the only occasion that a Labour government has gained a seat from the Opposition in an electoral contest.¹ Gibbins held the seat by 379 votes in the 1924 general election, and comfortably in the 1929 general election, but was defeated by the Conservative

Clyde Tabor Wilson Clyde Tabor Wilson (21 September 1889 – 13 November 1971) was a British Conservative Party politician. Born in Birkenhead on Merseyside, he moved to London to study law and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1913. From 1925 to 1935 ...

in the landslide defeat of

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. He had also become a Justice of the Peace in Liverpool in 1924. However, West Toxteth and Joseph Gibbins were not yet finished with each other. In early 1935, Wilson resigned to take up a position as Metropolitan Police Magistrate. Joseph Gibbins was again selected as by-election candidate, and on Tuesday 16 July 1935 he easily regained the seat on a swing of 19%. Gibbins thus went into the record books for a second time, as the only person to gain the same seat twice in two different by-elections. Joseph Gibbins easily held the seat in the 1935 general election -against

Randolph Churchill Major (rank), Major Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer Churchill (28 May 1911 – 6 June 1968) was an English journalist, writer and politician. The only son of future List of British Prime Ministers, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill a ...

- and in the 1945 general election. However, boundary changes merged the seat into a new

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Liverpool, Canning, Dingle, Liverpool, Dingle, and Edge Hill, Merseyside, Edge Hill ...

constituency for the 1950 general election. Gibbins gamely contested the new seat, but lost by 2,620 votes to the Conservative

Reginald Bevins John Reginald Bevins (20 August 1908 – 16 November 1996) was a British Conservative politician who served as a Liverpool Member of Parliament (MP) for fourteen years. He served in the governments of the 1950s and 1960s, playing an important ...

. He had fought 10 parliamentary elections, a record for the City of Liverpool. He died in 1965, aged 77.

Notes

¹ During the second Labour government in 1929 two seats, Preston and

Liverpool Scotland Liverpool Scotland was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Membe ...

, were gained by Labour without contest.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbins, Joseph 1888 births 1965 deaths English justices of the peace GMB (trade union)-sponsored MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool constituencies Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 United Society of Boilermakers-sponsored MPs Politicians from Liverpool Labour Party (UK) councillors in Liverpool

Early life

Political records

Notes

See also

References

External links