Michael Brothers (23 March 1870 – 5 June 1952) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

politician.

Life and career

Born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Brothers was educated at Blackburn Technical College, where he obtained top marks in the

City and Guilds of London Institute The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has be ...

examination. He spent some time in Canada, working as a miner, and then building railways, but returned to Blackburn, where he worked as a weaver and a cardroom operative. He joined the Blackburn Cardroom Workers' Amalgamation, and soon became its secretary. In 1927, he visited India to investigate the state of the cotton industry. The Cardroom Amalgamation was the only major cotton trade union without a member of Parliament, and they sponsored Brothers as a Labour Party candidate in Birmingham Duddeston at the 1922 general election. He was unsuccessful, but pursued his political career with election to Blackburn Borough Council in 1928. He finally won the union a place in Parliament at the 1929 general election, when he was elected in

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

. During Brothers' time in Parliament, Indian tariffs against British cotton were greatly increased, but Brothers believed that the Lancashire cotton industry would benefit, as tariffs against rival Japanese cotton were increased by even more. This hope proved incorrect, and the industry in Blackburn suffered most from the new barriers to export. He lost his seat in Parliament at the 1931 general election, and left the council in 1932, but remained involved with Labour as a member of its National Executive Committee, on which he represented the

United Textile Factory Workers' Association The United Textile Factory Workers' Association (UTFWA) was a trade union federation in Great Britain. It was active from 1889 until 1975. Objectives The federation was founded in 1889, to represent the various textile workers' unions in polit ...

from 1930 until 1939. From 1935, Brothers served as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

in Blackburn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brothers, Michael 1870 births 1952 deaths Trade unionists from Lancashire People from Blackburn UK MPs 1929–1931 Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies United Textile Factory Workers' Association-sponsored MPs