Robert Banner (27 November 1855 – 7 November 1910) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

socialist politician and trade unionist. Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Banner undertook an apprenticeship as a bookbinder. He was a founding member of the Edinburgh Republican Club in 1871, and became its secretary in 1874. Through it, he struck up a friendship with Andreas Scheu, who influenced his future politics.Stephen Williams, "Banner, Robert", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.XIV, pp.5–20 In 1877, on completing his apprenticeship, Banner joined the Bookbinders' and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union, which he represented as a delegate to Edinburgh Trades Council. He unsuccessfully argued that the council should focus on campaigning for a nine-hour maximum working day, and that it should not endorse

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 ...

candidates. He soon became a supporter of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Das Kapital ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' (), also known as ''Capital'' or (), is the most significant work by Karl Marx and the cornerstone of Marxian economics, published in three volumes in 1867, 1885, and 1894. The culmination of his ...

'' into English, while Marx asked him to update him on developments in the Scottish labour movement. In 1881, Banner called a conference of social democrats in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, trying to use his connections with

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...

in a failed attempt to found a Scottish Labour Party. Instead, he joined the Democratic Federation winning election to its executive in 1882. He also co-operated with 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 ...

, later implying that he had been involved with the

Phoenix Park Murders The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland, on 6 May 1882. Cavendish was the newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland and Burke was the Permane ...

. Later in 1882, Banner moved to

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

, where he joined the Invicta Working Men's Club. He also remained active in the Democratic Federation, launching meetings every Sunday in

Regents Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically between Marylebone and ...

, and also speaking outside Woolwich Arsenal. In 1884, he launched a Woolwich branch of the federation, and was re-elected to its national executive. He was part of the split which formed the Socialist League, leading the whole Woolwich branch into the new organisation. Banner himself served on the league's executive, and was proposed as its secretary, without his support or knowledge. He opposed the growth of anarchism in the league, and this led him to resign from it in 1886. However, he remained in close contact with it, and in particular, with Alexander K. Donald and John Lincoln Mahon of its

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

group. In 1888, they began forming the

Labour 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 ...

, and Banner took an active role until late 1889, when he became convinced that the group would not prove a success. Banner continued speaking in support of socialism, calling for an eight-hour working day and the formation of the Woolwich Labour Party. He also supported the

National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) was an early general union in the United Kingdom, the most important general union of its era. History The union was founded in 1889 as the National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers by Will ...

, through which activity he became reacquainted with

. He served as Hardie's

election agent An election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent by those running the election. The term is most used in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some ...

in his successful campaign in West Ham South at the

1892 UK general election The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury again win the greatest number of seats, but no longer a majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won 80 more seats ...

. That year, he also won election to 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 ...

's executive, but resigned soon after as his working hours meant he was unable to attend its meetings. Banner led the tiny Woolwich Labour Party into the new

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 won election to the Woolwich Local Board of Health, and championed numerous improvements, many of which were achieved, but he lost his seat in 1899. This position also gave him a seat on the board of Woolwich Polytechnic; he led a campaign which saved it from closure, and

Sidney Webb Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield, (13 July 1859 – 13 October 1947) was a British socialist, economist and reformer, who co-founded the London School of Economics. He was an early member of the Fabian Society in 1884, joining, like Geo ...

ensured that he was able to keep this position for the remainder of his life. In 1899, he became secretary of the Woolwich Progressive Association, which aimed to bring together labour and liberal supporters at elections, but this was dissolved in 1903, as the new Labour Representation Committee had become overwhelmingly strong in the borough. In 1903, Banner won election to

Woolwich Metropolitan Borough Council The Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich was a metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965. It was formed from the civil parishes of Eltham, Plumstead and Woolwich. Its former area is now part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and ...

, and was given a seat on its library committee. He lost his seat in 1906. Banner spoke at

Eleanor Marx Jenny Julia Eleanor Marx (16 January 1855 – 31 March 1898), sometimes called Eleanor Aveling and known to her family as Tussy, was the English-born youngest daughter of Karl Marx. She was herself a Socialism, socialist activist who sometimes ...

's funeral. He continued his trade union activity, standing unsuccessfully to become its assistant secretary in 1908. He helped negotiate with other unions in the industry, but he died in September 1910, shortly before the formation of the new National Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banner, Robert 1855 births 1910 deaths Independent Labour Party politicians Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of Woolwich Metropolitan Borough Council Politicians from Edinburgh Social Democratic Federation members Socialist League (UK, 1885) members Trade unionists from Edinburgh