Albert Victor Hilton, Baron Hilton of Upton, JP (14 February 1908 – 3 May 1977) was a British farm labourer and

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

official who became a Labour Party

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

and later

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

Farming career

Hilton was from a

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

family and was born in South Walsham. He attended an elementary school in

Upton Upton may refer to: Places United Kingdom England * Upton, Slough, Berkshire (in Buckinghamshire until 1974) * Upton, Buckinghamshire, a hamlet near Aylesbury * Upton, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough * Upton, Huntingdonshire, a location in Cambridge ...

only before going to work as an agricultural labourer. He was an athletic youth who enjoyed playing football, including for the Norfolk county team in 1932. He was also a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

lay preacher from 1932. A member of the

National Union of Agricultural Workers The National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers (NUAW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1906 and 1982. It represented farmworkers. History The union was established as the Eastern Counties Agricultural Labou ...

, he served as Swaffham Area Organiser for the union.

Labour Party official

In 1936 Hilton, who was an active supporter of the Labour Party, became a full-time Party Agent for East Norfolk Constituency Labour Party. He was responsible for organising the campaign in the East Norfolk by-election of 1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Hilton served in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and d ...

with the rank of Corporal. He married Nelly Simmons in 1944; they had two sons, both of whom predeceased him.

Trade union official and councillor

After the end of the war, Hilton moved on from the Labour Party to become an official of the

. He was appointed as a Justice of the Peace in 1949, becoming Vice Chairman of the Swaffham Magistrates, and in 1951 was elected to

Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich. Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Dist ...

By-election candidate

The sitting Labour MP for the marginal South West Norfolk constituency,

Sidney Dye Sidney Augustus Dye, JP (4 August 1900''Norfolk, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813–1915'' – 9 December 1958) was a British Labour Party politician. Born at Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, Sidney Dye was educated at Wells E ...

, was killed in a car accident in December 1958. Hilton was chosen to defend the 193 vote majority in the seat, the first time he had fought a Parliamentary election. With a largely agricultural constituency, he concentrated on issues such as land nationalisation and abolition of tied cottages, and succeeded in winning by 1,354 votes. However, in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

only a few months later, Hilton squeaked in by only 78 votes.

Political position

Hilton proved a generally loyal MP. In his first months, he signed a motion opposing the stockpiling of

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom; on hearing that this stance was not endorsed by the leadership, he withdrew his signature. In the 1960 leadership election, he publicly backed Hugh Gaitskell. He remained involved in his union and in May 1960 was elected as first Vice President; at the end of 1960 Hilton was part of a six-member delegation to Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In October 1961, Hilton was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party from the trade union section, replacing the previous nominee of the National Union of Agricultural Workers. In the 1963 Labour Party conference, he replied on behalf of the NEC to a debate on tied cottages, and accepted that a Labour government would make it impossible to evict the tenant of a tied cottage without providing alternative accommodation.

Defeat

Hilton's agricultural constituency was trending away from Labour, against the national swing. At the

1964 general election The following elections occurred in 1964. Africa * 1964 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1964 Central African Republic parliamentary election * 1964 Central African Republic presidential election * 1964 Dahomeyan general election * 1964 Gabo ...

, he was defeated by the Conservatives. He replaced

Edwin Gooch Edwin George Gooch (15 January 1889 – 2 August 1964) was a British Labour Party politician and trade union leader. Gooch was born in Wymondham, Norfolk, where he lived his entire life. He worked for a printer, then became a journalist. He joi ...

, who had been Labour MP for

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was ...

until his death, as President of the National Union of Agricultural Workers. He was appointed as government member of the board of the British Sugar Corporation Ltd in 1965, and later that year on 11 May was created a

, taking the title Baron Hilton of Upton, of Swaffham in the County of Norfolk.

House of Lords

He served as a Lord in Waiting (junior

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

) in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

from 1966. He was also appointed to the East Anglia Economic Planning Council in 1966, and served as Chairman of the National Brotherhood Movement within the Methodist Church in 1967. In 1971, Lord Hilton broke the whip to vote in support of the British application to join the

European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and th ...

. His wife died on 3 September 1976, which devastated Hilton who was also suffering ill health and died in 1977 aged 69.

References

*"Who Was Who", A & C Black *"The Biographical Dictionary of Life Peers", Compiled by W.D. Rubinstein, St. Martin's Press, 1991 *''The Times'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hilton Of Upton, Albert 1908 births 1977 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Councillors in Norfolk Labour Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) life peers Members of Norfolk County Council Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers-sponsored MPs Trade unionists from Norfolk UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs who were granted peerages Royal Army Service Corps soldiers Life peers created by Elizabeth II