Wesley Perrins, MBE (21 September 1905 – 12 January 1990) was an English

trade 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 ...

ist and Labour Party politician from

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

. He had a long career in local government in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, and sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1945 to 1950.

Early life

Perrins was the son of Councillor Amos Perrins of Stourbridge. He was educated at Wollescote Council School and at the Upper Standard School in

Lye Lye is the common name of various alkaline solutions, including soda lye (a solution of sodium hydroxide) and potash lye (a solution of potassium hydroxide). Lyes are used as cleaning products, as ingredients in soapmaking, and in various other c ...

. A

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 ...

, and a trade union official from 1935, Perrins was a member of Lye and Wollescote Urban District Council from 1928 to 1933, and of Stourbridge Urban District Council from 1933 to 1936.

Career

He was elected at the 1945 general election as the member of parliament (MP) for

Birmingham Yardley Birmingham Yardley is a constituency of part of the city of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Jess Phillips of the Labour Party. Yardley Rural District was annexed to Birmingham under the 1911 ...

, defeating the sitting

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP Sir Edward Salt. Perrins served only five years in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, and retired from the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at the 1950 general election. He was awarded the MBE in the

New Year Honours List The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

1952 for his work as Birmingham and District secretary of the

General and Municipal Workers Union The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 560,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (N ...

, later became a member of the West Midlands Economic Planning Council. He was a members of

Worcestershire County Council Worcestershire County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Worcestershire in England. Its headquarters are at County Hall in Worcester, the county town. The council consists of 57 councillors and there is no over ...

from 1955 to 1974 and of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party from 1965 to 1965.

Family

In July 1932, Perrins married Mary Evans, the daughter of Charles Evans. They had 2 children Inga (8 March 1935) and Bryn (18 January 1944) who both pursued successful careers in higher education.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perrins, Wesley 1905 births 1990 deaths Trade unionists from Birmingham, West Midlands GMB (trade union)-sponsored MPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1945–1950 People from Stourbridge Members of Worcestershire County Council Members of the Order of the British Empire