Peter Francis Curran (28 March 1860 – 14 February 1910) 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 ...

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 ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Born Patrick Francis Curran in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, to a

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family of Irish origin, Curran became known as "Pete" at an early age. He left school at the age of eleven, training as a blacksmith and working at a steel plant.''The Reformers' Year Book: 1908'', p.231Curran, Peter Francis
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' Always interested in politics, he joined the

Irish Land League The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún''), also known as the Land League, was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which organised tenant farmers in their resistance to exactions of landowners. Its prima ...

, but was impressed by

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist, Social philosophy, social philosopher and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of ...

's speeches, and transferred to the

Scottish Land Restoration League The Scottish Land Restoration League was a Georgist political party. History In the 1880s, enclosure was still in process in the Scottish Highlands, and resistance to it often received support from radicals around Britain and Ireland. Branches ...

in 1880. He married in 1881, and around this time also 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). Late in the 1880s, Curran moved to

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to work at the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...

. He worked with

Will Thorne William James Thorne CBE (8 October 1857 – 2 January 1946) was a British trade unionist, activist and one of the first Labour Members of Parliament. Early years Thorne was born in Hockley, Birmingham, on 8 October 1857. His father and ot ...

to found the National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers, and in 1889, he became the union's full-time secretary for the West of England. In October 1890, in Plymouth, Curran and two other union leaders were fined £20 each for intimidation against George Treleaven, a coal merchant who employed both union and non-union dockers to unload coal shipments. The following year this conviction was overturned by the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

, which ruled that notifying an employer that union dockers would no longer work for him if he continued to employ non-union dockers, was not a qualified intimidation. The case ''Curran v. Treleaven'' became immediately famous and, with newfound fame, Curran moved back to London to take up the post of national organiser of the gasworkers' union. While remaining a member of the SDF, Curran joined the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

and was a founder member 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 ...

(ILP). He was a member of the ILP's

National Administrative Council The National Administrative Council (NAC) was the executive council of the Independent Labour Party (ILP), a British socialist party which was active from 1893 until 1975. Creation The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was founded at a conference in ...

from 1893 to 1898, and stood for the party in Barrow at the 1895 general election, but won only 6.9% of the votes cast. His next contest was the

1897 Barnsley by-election Events January * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expeditio ...

, where he took just over 1,000 votes, only 9.7% of the total, and was attacked by

Ben Pickard Benjamin Pickard, usually Ben Pickard (26 or 28 February 1842 – 3 February 1904), was a British coal miner, trade unionist and Liberal-Labour (UK), Lib–Lab politician. Early life and family Pickard was born in Kippax, West Yorkshire, Kippax ...

, General Secretary of the

Yorkshire Miners' Association The Yorkshire Miners' Association was a British trade union. It is now an integral part of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). History The union was founded in 1881 with the merger of the South Yorkshire Miners' Association, and the ...

, for his socialist politics, and with claims that he had abandoned his wife. Curran married his second wife, Marian Barry, a prominent women's labour activist, by 1898, and the couple had two sons and two daughters. Around this time, the couple were active opponents of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, and Curran resigned from the Fabian Society in protest at its support for the conflict. In 1899, Curran was a founder of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) serving as its first chairman. Although he was well known for his passionate speech at

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

(TUC) meetings, he was privately dismissive of its leadership, and hoped that the GFTU would provide a way for unions to bypass and possibly supersede it. He was also prominent in the formation of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), forerunner of the Labour Party, which he saw as sharing the same aims as the GFTU. In 1905, he arranged the creation of the Joint Board of the TUC, GFTU and LRC, and this marked the period in which the GFTU enjoyed the greatest influence. Curran stood for the LRC in

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

at the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting e ...

. Although he was narrowly defeated in a contest against the sitting

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

MP, he stood again at the 1907 Jarrow by-election. On this occasion, he also faced Unionist Party and

Irish Nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

opposition, and these candidates took enough of the Liberal vote that he won the seat.Stephen Lowrey,
Pete Curran and the Jarrow Parliamentary By-Election of 1907
By this time, Curran was in poor health, principally due to his drinking. He was arrested and fined in 1909 for being drunk and incapable, and he developed

cirrhosis of the liver Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

. He lost his seat in another close contest at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

, and died shortly afterwards, aged 49.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Pete 1860 births 1910 deaths Georgists Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politicians from Glasgow Presidents of the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK) Social Democratic Federation members UK MPs 1906–1910 Trade unionists from Glasgow