Robert Mathieson Small (14 April 1873 – 26 September 1918) 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 ...

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 political activist. Small was born 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 ...

, the second son of

William Small William Small (1734–1775) was a Scottish physician and a professor of natural philosophy at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. There he became an influential mentor of Thomas Jefferson, who went on to be a leading p ...

, who became the secretary of the Lanarkshire Miners' County Union (LCMU), and Janet "Jessie" Bell Scott. Robert was the younger brother of William B. Small and older brother of Lothian Small. Robert followed his father and William B. by becoming an agent of the LCMU;Alan Campbell, ''The Scottish Miners, 1874-1939: Trade unions and politics'', pp.101, 106 in his case, covering the Harthill area. The LCMU was part of the

Scottish Miners' Federation The National Union of Scottish Mineworkers (NUSW) is a trade union in Scotland, founded in 1894 as the Scottish Miners Federation. It joined the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, and in 1914 changed its name to National Union of Scottish Minew ...

(SMF), so when the Amalgamated Miners and Manual Workers Union (AMMW) in

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

left the SMF, Small was sent to the area to attempt to found a rival union. He tried to persuade leading activist James Doonan to join the new endeavour, but Doonan refused, and eventually the AMMW rejoined the SMF. Although not a success, this did lead to him spending a period as secretary of the small Scottish Shale Miners and Manual Workers' Union. Small's father had been 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),David Howell, ''British Workers and the Independent Labour Party, 1888-1906'', pp.32, 296 and Small joined in 1907, soon becoming its Scottish secretary. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party and, as a result, Small stood for Labour in North West Lanarkshire 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 ...

, but took only 9.7% of the vote and third place. Soon after, he joined the more radical

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), for whom he stood for Lanarkshire County Council later in the year, but again missed out on election. The SDF later became the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of political faction, factional struggle, in 1916 the party's ...

, which considered putting Small forward as a candidate in the 1913 Linlithgowshire by-election, although it ultimately did not do so. Small appears to have remained a member of the ILP and on good terms with its leaders during this period.Robert Small - Workers Union
/ref> Small took a variety of full-time trade union posts, including Scottish Organiser of the General Federation of Trade Unions, and Glasgow and Clyde Organiser of the

Workers' 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 ...

. He also became the first Glasgow secretary of the

Workers' Educational Association Workers' Educational Associations (WEA) are not-for-profit bodies that deliver further education to adults in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. WEA UK WEA UK, founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult edu ...

. He died in London in 1918.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Robert 1873 births 1918 deaths Trade unionists from Glasgow British Socialist Party members Independent Labour Party politicians Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Social Democratic Federation members