Thomas Irwin (died 1941 or 1942) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician, who played a prominent role in the split 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 ...

from the Labour Party. Living in

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

, Irwin worked as a boilermaker, and became active in the United Society of Boilermakers. He also joined the

(ILP), which was affiliated to the Labour Party. He was elected to Dumbarton Town Council, and became a

bailie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables ...

. In addition, he was involved in the National Union of Unemployed Workers, serving as its treasurer. Irwin was selected by the Boilermakers as a prospective Parliamentary candidate, and at the

1929 United Kingdom general election The 1929 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 30 May 1929, with Parliament dissolved on 10 May. It resulted in a hung parliament: despite receiving fewer votes than the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwi ...

, he stood in Montrose Burghs. He took 44.5% of the votes cast, and a strong second place. As a result of this, he was selected to stand in the 1930 East Renfrewshire by-election by the local Labour Party and

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of trade union, labour unions or local union, union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, ...

. However, the national Labour Party learned that he had signed an ILP document, pledging to vote against Labour Party policy in certain matters. After lengthy deliberation, it refused to approve his candidacy, making Irwin the first independent ILP candidate in many years. He took 33.3% of the vote and a distant second place, which both parties considered a disappointing result. Irwin's candidacy marked a new stage in the split of the ILP from the Labour Party, which was finalised in 1932. However, Irwin chose to remain with the Labour Party, standing for it in

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

at both the 1931 and

1935 United Kingdom general election The 1935 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 14 November 1935. It resulted in a second (though reduced) landslide victory for the three-party National Government, which was led by Stanley Baldwin of the Conservative Party a ...

s. He took second place on each occasion, although his vote share increased from 30.7% to 44.0%. This proved to be his last contest, and he died in 1941 or 1942.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Thomas Year of birth missing 1940s deaths Year of death uncertain Councillors in West Dunbartonshire Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Dumbarton