Richard Bell (1859 – 1 May 1930) was one of the first two British Labour Members of Parliament, and the first for an English constituency, elected after the formation of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900. Bell was born in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

and became a high-profile trade unionist, the

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants. He was elected for

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, a two-member constituency, alongside a Liberal in the 1900 general election. He sympathised with the Liberals on most issues, except those that directly affected his union. This meant that he was not very compatible with the other Labour MP, Keir Hardie, a committed

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

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 ...

. Although its chairman in 1902–03, by 1903 Bell was struggling to adhere to the rules of the LRC group in Parliament, which now had five members following a series of by-elections. By 1904 he was considered to have lapsed from the group and was associated with the Liberal Party.David Martin, "Ideology and Composition", in The First Labour Party 1906-1914, ed. K.D. Brown (London: Croom Helm Ltd, 1985), 17 He was re-elected at the 1906 general election. His supporters in the Derby Trades Council became disillusioned with Bell and replaced him at the January 1910 general election with another trade unionist from the ASRS, Jimmy Thomas. After leaving Parliament, Bell joined the Employment Exchange branch of the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

. He retired from that in 1920 but continued in local politics and served as a member of the Southgate Urban District Council 1922–29.

Industrial interests

In 1903, Bell joined William John Parry in forming North Wales Quarries Ltd. which owned three slate quarries in Bethesda, Gwynedd. These were intended to be run co-operatively with the workers, most of whom were on strike against the owners of the nearby Penrhyn Quarry. The three-year strike against Penrhyn was the longest industrial dispute in British history, and brought great hardship to the 2,000 quarrymen who were locked out. The operation of Pandreiniog, Moel Faban and Tanybwlch quarries failed to provide a lasting model of co-operation, but they did keep many skilled quarrymen from emigrating to the United States.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Richard 1859 births 1930 deaths Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants-sponsored MPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal-Labour (UK) MPs Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies General secretaries of the National Union of Railwaymen Councillors in Greater London UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Presidents of the Trades Union Congress Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Derby